Former Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore has given an interview to the UK Guardian in which he expresses his optimism that the US will enact meaningful climate legislation.

He notes that "I was in China two days ago, and the premier of China asked me, in essence, why I'm optimistic that the Senate will pass legislation when the conventional wisdom says otherwise. And the answer is that I have been a part of conversations between Democrats and Republicans that give me a very different view from what the consensus is in the journalistic community." Gore then cites the recent op-ed by Democratic Senator Kerry of Massachusetts and Republican Senator Graham of South Carolina in the New York Times as evidence of wide bi-partisan support for climate legislation. He then added that "There are other surprises like that in store."

Even so, the former Vice President expects a hardening tone  from climate change deniers. He attributes this to "the sunset phenomenon, where there's a spectacle just before the subsiding": as the remaining climate change doubters and vested interests begin to realise that the game is up, he suggests, they're bound to make one last stand. "This self-interest on the part of some of the carbon polluters - who are becoming a bit intense in their efforts - reflects their awareness that public opinion has been shifting very significantly," he says. "When I say 'they', I don't mean to indict all of them, because the business community is now very much split... but that realisation has produced a desire on the part of some of these carbon polluters to dig in their heels."

Asked about the recent mass protests and civil disobedience for the climate across the world, Gore responded, "Civil disobedience has an honourable history, and when the urgency and moral clarity cross a certain threshold, then I think that civil disobedience is quite understandable, and it has a role to play. And I expect that it will increase, no question about it."

The article is strongly recommended.