Former Vice President Al Gore is calling for a dramatic shift in US energy policy. On Thursday, Gore called on the next US president to abandon fossil fuels in favor of renewable energy to produce electricity within the next ten years. Gore issued the challenge at a speech in Washington, D.C.

Al Gore: “So, today, I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within ten years. This goal is achievable, affordable and transformative. It represents a challenge to all Americans, in every walk of life: to our political leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, engineers and to every citizen.”

Gore continued, “We’re borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that’s got to change.”