Al Gore's green investments prompt conflict of interest row

One company in which Al Gore invested has contracts with utilities that received a combined subsidy of $560m (£340m) from the US energy department
Ed Pilkington in New York
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 3 November 2009 22.15 GMT
The launch of Al Gore's new book this week has prompted questions about whether the former US vice-president's investments in green technology amount to a conflict of interest.
Gore's latest call to action over climate change, Our Choice: a Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis, has prompted a debate about his involvement in firms investing in the new green economy that he promotes.
The New York Times points out that one company in which Gore invested, Silver Spring Networks, has contracts with utilities that last week received a combined subsidy of $560m (£340m) from the US energy department. The payments, part of a total $3.4bn handed out by the federal government to encourage the distribution of environmentally-friendly power, are likely to be handsomely recouped by Gore and his associates.
The accusation that Gore is trapped in a conflict of interest has been raised periodically over the past few years. It is a barb popular among climate change sceptics and rightwing bloggers, as well as Republican politicians. Marsha Blackburn, a congressional representative from Gore's home state of Tennessee, tackled him over the issue in April during a subcommittee debate in Congress on the Obama administration's proposed cap-in-trade system for curbing emissions.
She referred to Gore's partnership of Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, a Californian venture capital firm that has put about $1bn into about 40 companies that will be bidding for contracts under the new system. "Is the legislation we are discussing here today something you are going to benefit personally from?" she asked.
Gore, audibly riled, replied that every penny he made from his investments was put back into his non-profit foundation to spread knowledge about the climate challenge. "If you believe that the reason I have been working on this issue for 30 years is because of greed, you don't know me," he said, adding: "Do you think there's something wrong with being active in business in this country? I am proud of it."
One of Gore's partners at Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers is John Doerr, who advises Barack Obama on dealing with the economic downturn.
Gore is also a founder of Generation Investment Management, based in London, which has substantial interests in green technology.