Year 2000: Al Gore was for fossil fuels before he was against them, and after he was against them that other time

Institute for Energy Research | Are Energy Prices Too Low?

Well, none of the above came to pass with Gore on the campaign trail; quite the opposite.  “I think we need to bring gasoline prices down,” he intoned.

I have made it clear in this campaign that I am not calling for any tax increase on gasoline, on oil, on natural gas, or anything else. I am calling for tax cuts to stimulate the production of new sources of domestic energy and new technologies to improve efficiency.[4]

To which his erstwhile climate ally Bill McKibben complained:

No American politician can bear to do anything to restrict our piggish use of coal and gas and oil–not to raise energy prices or legislate against the plague of gas-guzzling SUV’s. During the campaign, Mr. Gore even demanded that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve be opened to keep fuel prices down.[5]

Post-election, of course, Al Gore reverted back to his old ways. “The leading experts predict that we have less than 10 years to make dramatic changes in our global warming pollution lest we lose our ability to ever recover from this environmental crisis,” he stated eight years after his narrowly failed presidential run. Little doubt Gore would endorse a new gasoline tax à la Esty and Porter, and higher electricity prices as well.