Reinvented Gore returns to Capitol Hill

It was more than six years since Al Gore had appeared in an official capacity on Capitol Hill. In January 2001, one of his joyless final tasks as outgoing Vice-President had been to formally certify the votes of the man who had just beaten him in the battle for the White House.

Yesterday, after a twisting, reflective journey of reinvention, Mr Gore returned to deliver a message not only for President George Bush, the man who defeated him, but the entire world. His topic, typically enough for Mr Gore, was the danger of climate change. Whether his appearance was also part of an as yet undeclared "ghost" campaign for next year's presidential contest remains to be seen.

"I want to testify today about what I believe is a planetary emergency ­ a crisis that threatens the survival of our civilisation and the habitability of the Earth," Mr Gore told a joint meeting of two House committees.

Mr Gore was warmly received by Democrats but less so by Republicans; at least one suggested the former vice-president had his facts "totally wrong".

But Mr Gore gave no quarter. "The planet has a fever," he said. "If your baby has a fever, you go to the doctor. If the doctor says you need to intervene here, you don't say, 'Well, I read a science fiction novel that told me it's not a problem'."

In the years since losing the 2000 race, Mr Gore has won an Oscar for his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, been nominated for a Nobel Prize and thought long and hard about returning to politics. It was only after a lengthy period of introspection that he decided not to participate in the 2004 contest ­ a decision that came as a relief to many Democratic Party activists, who believed his lacklustre performance cost them the 2000 contest against Mr Bush.

How times change. Even though he has stated he does not intend to run again, polls suggest Mr Gore would be one of the favoured candidates among Democrats, challenging the popularity of Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. His position is strengthened by his record on the Iraq war, which he always opposed.

But it is the issue of global warming that Mr Gore has really made his own.

On this topic, his position has been less one of reinvention rather than increasingly speaking out on an issue to which he has long sought to draw attention.

He first spoke of the dangers of a changing climate when he was a congressman during the 1970s and held hearings on the issue. As Vice-President he pushed strongly for the US to participate in the Kyoto agreement, seeking a legally binding reduction of greenhouse gases. Last month, Mr Gore joined Richard Branson to announce the Virgin Earth Challenge, a competition offering $25m (£13m) to whomever comes up with the first realistic plan to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

Testifying yesterday, he said he believed it was not too late to confront climate change and that "we have everything we need to get started" . He said the only way to persuade the emerging powers and energy users India and China to accept reductions was by leadership.

After appearing before the House committees, Mr Gore took his message to the Senate where he encountered a long-time opponent, Senator James Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma who has described Mr Gore as "full of crap" and has dismissed climate change concern as a hoax. Mr Inhofe sought to question Mr Gore's own environmental record at his Tennessee home. Mr Gore ­ ever the politician ­ suggested they should continue their discussion over breakfast, away from the cameras.