Al Gore wins Oscar and lots of laughs

LOS ANGELES — The documentary that turned former U.S. vice-president Al Gore's power-point presentation on global warming into an engaging and entertaining film won the Oscar on Sunday night.

The best-documentary win was a triumph for Gore, who has kept a sense of humour about his loss in the 2000 election that was decided in George W. Bush's favour by a U.S. Supreme Court decision.

"I am Al Gore. I used to be the next president of the United States of America,'' Gore says in the film, repeating a line he has used often.

Sunday, Gore used the Oscar win not to further his political career but to boost his campaign to find solutions for global warming and other environmental problems.

"My fellow Americans,'' Gore said to laughter from the crowd. "People all over the world, we need to solve the climate crisis. It's not a political issue, it's a moral issue. We have everything we need to get started with the possible will to act. That's a renewable resource. Let's renew it.''

Earlier in the evening, Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio took the stage to unveil a series of efforts the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences took to make this year's awards more environmentally friendly.

Pressed by DiCaprio about any other major announcement he might like to make, the former vice president pulled out a statement.

"My fellow Americans, I'm going to take this opportunity right here and now, to formally announce my intentions to ...'' Gore said before the orchestra broke in and he walked off, arm-in-arm and laughing, with DiCaprio.

Backstage, Gore put speculation to rest, saying "I do not have plans to become a candidate for office again.''

Instead, Gore said he was dedicating all his efforts to pressuring governments to act on climate-crisis issues.

"It is the overriding world challenge of our time,'' Gore said. "I really hope the decision by the academy to honour the work by director Davis Guggenheim and these producers will convince people who did not go see it before to see the movie and learn about the climate crisis and become a part of the solution.''