Former Vice President Al Gore told senators Wednesday he was skeptical of the roles nuclear power or advanced coal technology could play in addressing global warming.

Gore’s remarks may put him at odds with lawmakers in both parties who want to provide incentives for traditional sources of energy, such as coal and nuclear, in future climate-change legislation.

Coal-fired power plants are now a leading source of carbon dioxide emissions, but the industry wants to develop technology to capture and sequester the gas. Funding for this research is considered essential for lawmakers in Appalachian and Western states who want to maintain a viable coal industry.

But Gore, who testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was pessimistic that this technology would be available anytime soon. “We must avoid becoming vulnerable to the illusion that this is near at hand. It is not,” he said.

Instead, he said, Congress should consider ways to provide full employment to coal industry workers whose jobs are displaced. “We must not have any more conventional, dirty coal plants that do not capture and sequester [carbon dioxide],” he said.

Republicans Bob Corker of Tennessee and Johnny Isakson of Georgia pressed Gore on the role of nuclear power plants, which emit no greenhouse gases. But Gore said he expected the nuclear power industry would play a limited role.

“I have grown skeptical about the degree to which it will expand,” Gore said. “I’m not opposed to it, but there is now in the industry absolutely zero ability to predict with any consequence what the cost of construction is.”

He said the most promising future sources of energy would be renewable technologies such as wind turbines, or concentrated solar plants that use mirrors to reflect sunlight in the desert.

Gore urged Congress to act swiftly to pass legislation to curb emissions that drive global warming. He said passing “cap and trade” legislation this year would place the United States in a good negotiating position for international climate talks scheduled for December in Copenhagen.

Such a bill would set a nationwide limit on greenhouse gas emissions and create a market-based trading program for companies to meet the cap. Parties are meeting in Copenhagen to work out a global climate change agreement.

But first, Gore said Congress should pass economic recovery legislation that includes incentives for energy efficiency, renewable energy and the construction of a more robust transmission grid. He said he preferred the House version of this bill (HR 1) which would condition energy grants to states on the adoption of certain regulatory changes to promote energy efficiency.

“Our home — Earth — is in grave danger,” Gore said. “What is at risk of being destroyed is not the planet itself, of course, but the conditions that have made it hospitable for human beings.”

At the same time, he sought to dispel claims that it was too hard to deal with global warming and the economy at the same time. “In fact, the solutions to the climate crisis are the very same solutions that will address our economic and national security crises as well.”