Al Gore, the former US vice-president, called yesterday for a "Marshall plan" to make job creation and measures to address climate change compatible and urged George W. Bush to commit to mandatory cuts in carbon dioxide emissions.

"This is an emergency," Mr Gore told the Clinton Global Initiative. the key to fighting global poverty is to have the wealthy nations and the developing nations join together to reduce global warming . . what we need is a global Marshall plan to make the creation of jobs around the reduction of carbon the central principle for how we develop this."