Gore calls on leaders for action on fossil fuels

Former US Vice-President and 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Al Gore made an impassioned call Monday for leaders to "choose life over death" by ending the use of fossil fuels that are stoking climate change.

Gore, a long-time environmental campaigner who was among the first to raise the alarm about climate change, told leaders at this year's United Nations climate summit in Egypt that they should turn away from destructive behavior, insisting that "we have other choices" in the form of renewable energy.

Al Gore also called on wealthy nations not to allow current turbulence of global energy markets to shake their commitment to reducing consumption of fossil fuel.

"The wealthy nations of the world should not confuse the short term with the long term and should not be fooled by the absolute need to backfill the shortage of fossil energy caused by the cruel and evil war launched by Russia in Ukraine as an excuse for locking in long term commitments to even more dependence and addiction on fossil fuels", he said.

"We have to move beyond the era of fossil fuel colonialism," he added.