Former Vice President Al Gore compared climate change deniers to the police officers who gathered in the hallway of a school in Uvalde, Texas, and waited for the mass shooting that killed 19 students.
The global warming campaigner said solutions are now available to tackle the crisis, but “broken” democracy is stifling efforts.
He encouraged voters to support “pro-climate” lawmakers in the House and Senate to turn the tide.
“We have elections coming up. And this is a time for all of us to step up, he told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” in an excerpt from an interview that will air Sunday.
“Climate deniers are indeed in some ways like all those nearly 400 law enforcement officers in Uvalde, Texas, who waited outside an unlocked door while children were slaughtered. They heard the screams, they heard the shots, and nobody stepped forward, said Gore, who served as vice president for eight years in the Clinton administration.
He added: “God bless these families who have suffered so much.”
“It’s time for all of us to step up,” urged former Vice President Al Gore. Ian Forsyth/Getty Images
Law enforcement officers were seen on video waiting in the hallway of Robb Elementary School for more than an hour as a gunman armed with an assault rifle went on a rampage on May 24, killing 21 people.
Gore said efforts to fight climate change are being thwarted by a 50-50 split in the Senate and a narrow Democratic majority in the House, saying the fight against climate change “should not be a partisan issue.”
“Faced with this global emergency, what we are doing with our inaction and failing to walk through the door and stop the killing is not typical of what we are capable of as human beings. We have the solutions. And I think these extreme events that keep getting worse and more severe are really starting to change minds,” said Gore, whose 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth highlighted the dangers of climate change.
“We need to have unity as a nation to come together and stop turning this into a political football,” he said.
Former Vice President Al Gore encouraged voters to support “pro-climate” lawmakers. Getty Images/iStockphoto While public sentiment about climate change has changed over the years, attitudes in Congress have not. Hesther Ng/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
Gore also said that while public sentiment has changed over the years, attitudes in Congress have not.
“Our democracy is broken. And to solve the climate crisis, we’re going to have to address the crisis of democracy, he told host Chuck Todd.
Gore drew a parallel between Congress’ failure to ban assault weapons and the inability to pass climate change legislation.
“Climate deniers are really, in a way, similar to all those almost 400 law enforcement officers in Uvalde, Texas,” said former Vice President Al Gore. Texas House Investigative Committee/Handout via REUTERS
”The same reason we can’t pass legislation, for example, to restore the ban on assault weapons is the same reason we can’t pass climate legislation. We have a minority government. We still have a filibuster that needs to be removed. We have big money playing too big a role in our politics, lobbyists for the fossil fuel industry,” he said.
“We have to meet this challenge,” Gore said.
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