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Sharing the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize helps underscore the urgency of the climate crisis, said former Vice President Al Gore on Friday.

Gore's comments came hours after the Nobel committee announced he would share the award with the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for their work to raise awareness about global warming.

"This is a chance to elevate global consciousness about the challenges that we face now," Gore said, speaking to reporters in Palo Alto, California. "It truly is a planetary emergency, and we have to respond quickly."

The former vice president said he would donate his half of the $1.5 million prize to the Alliance for Climate Protection, an organization he founded to persuade people to reduce global warming by cutting pollution.

"That amount is very small compared to the enormous challenge that lies ahead," Gore said, including organizing a massive grass-roots movement and a mass advertising campaign focused on "trying to change the way people think." Watch Gore describe what he calls a 'planetary emergency' Read full article »

All About Global Climate Change • Al Gore