Al Gore’s Oscar-winning documentary influences the United Nations

by Andreas von Warburg

“An Inconvenient Truth,” the Oscar-winning documentary on global warming starring former US vice-president Al Gore, is positively influencing the new leadership at the United Nations. Global warming, according to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, poses the same dangers as war and awareness is finally growing.
“Even amongst the broader public, climate change is no longer an ‘inconvenient’ issue, it is an inescapable reality,” Ban said. “As participants in the global carbon-based economy, all of us are part of this grave and growing problem. Now, each one of us also needs to commit to the search for solutions. We have to change the way we live, and rethink the way we travel and transact business.”

Ban said that much more must also be done by Governments, business and civil society. “This June, I plan to attend the summit meeting of the Group of 8 industrialized nations, known as the G-8, where I shall discuss the issue of climate change with global leaders,” he said. “The world needs a more coherent system of international environmental governance. We need to invest more in green technologies and smarter policies. And we need to do far more to adapt to global warming and its effects. There are growing opportunities for innovative businesses to spur progress and innovation through products that push all of us onto more sustainable paths.”

Not surprisingly, Ban’s message comes a few days after  “An Inconvenient Truth” won the Oscar for best documentary. The movies shows a very passionate Gore emphasizing the risks related to global warming on climate stability and balance. It represents a stinging rebuttal to the dwindling and increasingly discredited band of skeptics who refuse to acknowledge the extent of climate change and often tame important scientific data.

“We are all complicit in the process of global warming. Unsustainable practices are deeply entrenched in our everyday lives. But in the absence of decisive measures, the true cost of our actions will be borne by succeeding generations, starting with yours,” Ban said, echoing Gore’s words. “The danger posed by war to all of humanity and to our planet is at least matched by the climate crisis and global warming.”