The former US vice president, Al Gore, speaking on the opening day of the COP27 climate talks, criticised the world’s addiction to fossil fuels.

He told world leaders meeting at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt:

“We must see the so-called ‘dash for gas’ for what it really is: a dash down a bridge to nowhere, leaving the countries of the world facing climate chaos and billions in stranded assets, especially here in Africa.

He said the “dash for gas in Africa is a dash for gas to be sent to wealthy countries”.

“We have to move beyond fossil fuel colonialism”, he said.

Mr Gore also said world leaders had a “credibility problem”.

“We’re talking and we’re starting to act, but we’re not doing enough.”

He said:

“We continue to use the thin blue atmosphere as an open sewer”.

He described COP27 as a “moment for global epiphany”, a “time for moral clarity” not “reckless indifference”.

DrillOrDrop is an accredited journalist at COP27 reporting remotely on the climate talks