Gore said it was integral that a climate treaty be reached at the crucial United Nations Climate Change Conference later this year in the Danish capital.

He was speaking at the World Business Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen, attended by around a thousand business representatives, academics and politicians.

"It's time to act now … we have to do it this year, not next year," Gore said. "To save the future, we have everything we need except the political will.

"The business community and the leaders of the world must go together to safeguard the world."

The summit was organized by think tank Mandog Morgen to raise environmental awareness ahead of the UN climate meeting. The Kyoto Protocol, which seeks to regulate carbon emissions, expires in 2012.

Lobbying must end

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also spoke at the business summit, where he attacked some elements of the business world for undermining efforts to fight climate change.

"For those who are directly or implicitly lobbying against climate action I have a clear message: your ideas are out of date and you are running out of time," he said.

Ban said that only a small portion of the business world has made climate change a top priority. He said many corporations and governments were guilty of fence-sitting, waiting for other groups to take the initiative.

"The smart money is on the green economy," he said. "Leaders sometimes are weak because they are short-sighted to get the votes."

Executives from leading companies such as Intel, BP and Siemens are using the three-day summit to discuss ways business could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions without damaging economic growth.

Also taking part in the conference is UN Climate Council head Rajendra Pachauri, as well as European Union chief commissioner Jose Manuel Barroso.

dfm/dpa/AFP/Reuters
Editor: Andreas Illmer