GORE PLEA

PALMA
NOBEL Peace prize-winning former vice-president of the United States, Al Gore, called on the Spanish business community to join the fight against climate change in Palma yesterday.

The award-winning environmentalist whose documentary film An Inconvenient Truth won an Oscar last year, urged delegates at the tenth National Family Business Congress that they owe it to their children and future generations to help combat climate change and global warming.

Over 600 captains of industry attended Gore's lecture at Palm's Auditorium but the press were barred from covering his speech. However, Gore used his platform in Majorca to preach his green gospel against the backdrop of a giant globe and accompanied by impressive visuals of climate change and evidence of the past 30 years of global warming.

The former vice-president also used his Palma trip to attack right wing politicians and governments for denying climate change and refusing to enlist in the battle against global warming.

He also rounded on his own government led by George W. Bush who controversially defeated him at the 2000 presidential elections, for still not having signed up to the Kyoto Agreement.

However, Al Gore came under fire from local environmentalists.
Macia Blazquez, the president of GOB, criticized Al Gore because his government did not sign up to the Kyoto Agreement either. Gore served under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 2001 and Clinton's government refused to sign up to the agreement, just like the present administration.

GOB also complained that they had not been invited to attend Gore's speech.
The media complained too that they were not allowed to cover the lecture for which Gore picked up an estimated 200'000 euros and literally flew in and flew out of Palma.

Tonight he will give a talk in Barcelona and similar press restrictions will apply.
No one could get close enough to ask Gore what his latest 2008 presidential election plans are.
He has yet to state that he will run but he has not rejected the idea and a Gore candidacy remains a topic of public speculation.
Today, the Spanish Prime Minster Jose Luis Rodríguez Zapatero will close the congress and will also be using his trip to Palma to hold another meeting with the Balearic President, fellow Socialist Francesc Antich.