EXTRA: Gore says warming "most dangerous challenge"

Former US vice president Al Gore said Wednesday he will use his Nobel Peace Prize as a springboard to push the fight against global warming, but he gave no hint whether he is warming to a presidential bid. Gore, speaking hours after being named co-winner of this year's prize, called climate change "the most dangerous challenge we've ever faced" and said his share of the prize - about 750,000 dollars - is "very small" compared to the task ahead. "This is a chance to elevate global consciousness about the challenges that we face now," said Gore, who was in California to promote his environmental projects. He said he was "deeply honoured" by the award, which he shared with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a UN scientific body that has sounded increasingly dire warnings about global warming over the past two decades. "It truly is a planetary emergency and we have to respond quickly," Gore said. He took no questions at the televised media event, avoiding the issue of whether the Nobel prize might make him more likely to run for president in 2008. dpa tc cc