Gore Accepts Nobel Prize With Call for Bold Action

Asked whether his life as the world's climate-change ambassador had turned out better than if he had become president, he said: "I am under no illusion that there is any position with as much ability to influence the future than that of the president of the United States," he said. "But that was not to be."

Gore opened his acceptance speech by referring to the 2000 U.S. Supreme Court decision denying him the presidency in an election he lost to George W. Bush despite winning the popular vote.

"Seven years ago tomorrow, I read my own political obituary in a judgment that seemed to me harsh and mistaken -- if not premature," he said. "But that unwelcome verdict also brought a precious if painful gift: an opportunity to search for fresh new ways to serve my purpose," he said. "Unexpectedly that quest has brought me here."

Gore drew a parallel with what happened to Alfred Nobel, the Swedish industrialist and inventor. Nobel read his own obituary, mistakenly published by a newspaper before his death, which described him as the "Merchant of Death" because he had invented dynamite. Shaken by that, Nobel went on to establish the prizes that bear his name.

Gore spoke in Oslo as thousands of activists and government officials met in Bali, Indonesia, to begin negotiations toward a new global climate-change treaty. There are growing demands for binding legal commitments to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, based on concerns that human activities are causing temperatures and sea levels to rise. Gore urged negotiators to ratify a new treaty that would cap global emissions as early as 2010.

At a news conference in Bali, the senior U.S. negotiator, Harlan L. Watson, said the United States would oppose the mandatory limits on carbon emissions that are currently in a draft treaty. Including mandatory reductions from the outset of the process "might prejudge outcomes" of a negotiation that is supposed to take place over the next two years, Watson said.

Pachauri of the U.N. panel, addressing the government leaders meeting in Bali, said, "Will those responsible for decisions in the field of climate change at the global level listen to the voice of science and knowledge, which is now loud and clear?"

Over the years, Gore has been ridiculed by critics who assert that his warnings about climate change have been overstated. But his film, "An Inconvenient Truth," won an Academy Award this year. It was followed by the awarding to Gore of the Peace Prize, which has also been conferred on three former U.S. presidents: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Jimmy Carter.

"I have had a big ally in reality," Gore said during the interview. "It doesn't always make a difference. It didn't prevent us from invading Iraq, for example. But it does eventually get people's attention."

On Tuesday, Thurman will host a Nobel concert along with fellow actor Kevin Spacey, who is working on an HBO movie based on the recount after the 2000 U.S. election.

"Political defeats can also bring good results," said Ole Danbolt Mjoes, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, as an ebullient Gore smiled.

"The Norwegian Nobel Committee rarely raises its voice. Our style is largely sober," he said. "But it is a long time since the committee was concerned with such fundamental questions as this year."