CHRIS HAYES: This is the new argument you hear. For a while it was, it's snowing in DC ... largely that has been abandoned by people that, I think, don't want to seem ridiculous. You also have polling that shows that, you know, 50 percent of voters in the GOP primaries believe in, you know, human-caused climate change. So the next argument is the argument like that: “Yeah, it's a problem but it's a big planet, everyone's gonna try to game each other. We shouldn't be the ones to go first and destroy American jobs and put people in Kentucky out of work when everyone else is just going to cheat. And we can't do anything about it.”

AL GORE: Of course, there are at least two big flaws in that argument. First of all, we can create jobs by taking on this challenge. And we can create jobs that cannot be outsourced, jobs like refurbishing buildings to make them energy efficient, installing solar panels on rooftops so individuals can have lower electricity bills. There are tens of millions of jobs in this, and it's one of the few areas in our economy where the jobs are growing in number fairly rapidly. Eighty-eight percent growth in green jobs year over year over the past year. And secondly, since when did the United States abandon its traditional world leadership role? Especially at a time when just this past week the president of China says “Okay, we're going to adopt a cap and trade program and we're reducing our CO2 emissions and we want to create jobs in solar and wind and efficiency.” So the rest of the world still does look to the United States for leadership. This is the most serious global challenge we've ever faced. No other country can play the role that the U.S. can play.

Related:

The 5 Stages Of Climate Denial Are On Display Ahead Of The IPCC Report

Previously:

Chris Hayes' Climate Coverage Towers Over His Primetime Peers'

Hayes Explains How Conservative Media Amplify Climate Change Denialism

Hayes Lambastes Right-Wing Media's “Annual Tradition Of Snow-Trolling”