Gore says climate change 'not a political issue'

WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) Former US Vice President Al Gore said he was honored to share the Nobel Peace Prize with the UN climate panel today for their work on global warming and that climate change was a moral, not political, issue.

''We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity,'' Gore said in a statement. ''It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level.'' Gore was due to speak to the media in Palo Alto, California, at 10:30 a m Pacific time 2300 hrs IST his spokeswoman said.

''I am deeply honored to receive the Nobel Peace Prize,'' Gore said in the statement.

''This award is even more meaningful because I have the honor of sharing it with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change -- the world's pre-eminent scientific body devoted to improving our understanding of the climate crisis -- a group whose members have worked tirelessly and selflessly for many years.'' Gore also said he would donate all of his share of the cash award.

''My wife, Tipper, and I will donate 100 per cent of the proceeds of the award to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan non-profit organization that is devoted to changing public opinion in the US and around the world about the urgency of solving the climate crisis.'' The Alliance for Climate Protection is the nonprofit group Gore founded last year to raise public awareness of climate change.

REUTERS PD BST1901