I'll write much more next week about this Wine and Climate Change conference in Barcelona, but just to give you some of Al Gore's words at the close of the session today.
'How do you establish a balance between making money with wines sales and being respectful of the environment? Sometimes in the past, there hsa been a tendency to see the relationship between the two as one of conflict. But many companies who are making changes are finding that they can increase profits. When we go further and put a price on carbon, then those businesses who have begun to make adjustments, will find even greater profits.
'The feeling that consumers have about a company producing a product has a huge influence on the choices they make in the market place, and as concern in the climate grows, this will be increasingly true. If they feel (eg) that the Spanish wine industry is leading the world in being responsible, then the monetary consequences of taking leadership on the issue can show up. So there is a great opportunity in providing leadership.
'At an individual level, if winemakers make investment decisions based on predicted changes, on grapes varieirties and viticultural methods that can make a difference, then they can have economic benefits by their greater knowledge of the climate crisis.'
Oh - and he's planning a sequel to An Inconvient Truth in 2009!!
