Al Gore used the occasion of his 2007 Nobel Peace Prize lecture yesterday to tell the world in powerful, stark language: Climate change is a “real, rising, imminent and universal” threat.

Whilst delegates try to trash out a deal in Bali, Gore warned that “our world is spinning out of kilter” and that “the very web of life on which we depend is being ripped and frayed.”

He added, “We, the human species, are confronting a planetary emergency — a threat to the survival of our civilization that is gathering ominous and destructive potential even as we gather here.” But, he added, “there is hopeful news as well: we have the ability to solve this crisis and avoid the worst — not all — of its consequences, if we act boldly, decisively, and quickly.”

He finished by saying: “The future is knocking at our door right now. Make no mistake, the next generation will ask us one of two questions. Either they will ask, ‘What were you thinking; why didn’t you act?’ Or they will ask instead, ‘How did you find the moral courage to rise and successfully resolve a crisis that so many said was impossible to solve?’”