Gore urges action against global warming

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore urged Congress to move quickly to avert the devastating effects of global warming.

In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday, Gore told former colleagues that even if the global greenhouse gas emissions were halted today, the world could experience an increase in temperatures of between 2.5 degrees to 7.5 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100, The Washington Post reported.

"This would bring a screeching halt to human civilization and threaten life everywhere on Earth, and this is by the end of this century," Gore said.

The Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker and Nobel Peace Prize laureate urged lawmakers to adopt a binding carbon cap and push for a new international climate pact by the end of 2009 to ward off global warming.

"Frankly, the science is screaming at us," said committee Chairman Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.

He said the United States would not omit emerging economies from any future climate agreement.

"A global problem demands a global effort," Kerry said, "and today we are working toward a solution with a role for developed and developing countries alike, which will be vital as we work to build consensus here at home in tough economic times."