Former vice president and environmental activist Al Gore Albert (Al) Arnold GoreGallup: 61 percent support abolishing the Electoral College Business groups start gaming out a Biden administration Cruz says Senate Republicans likely have votes to confirm Trump Supreme Court nominee MORE defended the possibility of the U.S. taking on the "brunt" of the global response to climate change, saying the steps the nation takes would have wide-ranging economic benefits.

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"It's certainly true that it's a global crisis that requires a global response with every nation being involved," Gore said in an interview that aired Sunday on ABC's "This Week." "We are still in an era of history where the United States of America and only the United States of America can provide the necessary leadership to rally the nations of the world to do the right thing."

He added that a word like "brunt" implies that "it's a painful and costly transition, when it fact this is the best way to create millions of new jobs."

"This is where the economic growth of the future is to be found," he said. "It's not as if we're taking on this huge burden, we're doing things that are benefiting us in other ways."

Al Gore tells @jonkarl that climate change is "getting worse faster than we are mobilizing to solve it," but the "good news" is that "we now have an upsurge in climate activism at the grassroots in all 50 states ... and in every country in the world" https://t.co/XmIoiV6N2P pic.twitter.com/XIXZ31vdon — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 11, 2019

Gore said he is encouraged by most Democratic 2020 presidential candidates making the issue of climate change a top priority in their campaigns, but declined to either endorse or critique any plans.