Gore lauds Romney on climate position

Former Vice President Al Gore on Wednesday praised GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney for his acknowledgement of global climate change.

Gore, who has championed climate issues since losing the 2000 presidential race, posted a note on his blog that praised Romney for being consistent on his position that humans have contributed to rising global temperatures.

"Good for Mitt Romney — though we've long passed the point where weak lip-service is enough on the Climate Crisis," Gore wrote. "While other Republicans are running from the truth, he is sticking to his guns in the face of the anti-science wing of the Republican Party."

Gore's message could further provoke conservatives, some of whom objected last week after Romney reiterated his position at a town-hall meeting in New Hampshire.

“Bye-bye, nomination,” conservative talker Rush Limbaugh said on his radio last Tuesday, The Washington Post noted.

President Obama and other Democrats have also named the healthcare reforms Romney sought as Massachusetts governor as a template for the new national healthcare law.

But as Gore suggested, Romney and he disagree over how to fix the problem. Gore favors a cap-and-trade energy policy whereas Romney opposes one.

“We don’t call it ‘America warming,’" Romney said, according to the Post. “We call it ‘global warming.’"

Romney initially favored a regional cap-and-trade program as governor, but eventually pulled Massachusetts out of the agreement over economic concerns.

Gore offered Romney similar praise last year after the former Massachusetts governor reiterated his position in his memoir, No Apology. 

-- Michael O'Brien contributed to this report.

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