[NYTr] Al Gore, IPCC Win Nobel Peace Prize

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

sent by Tim Murphy - activ-l

12 October 2007
The Norwegian Nobel Committee
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2007/index.html

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2007

Press Release

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize
for 2007 is to be shared, in two equal parts, between the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Albert Arnold (Al)
Gore Jr. for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater
knowledge about man-made climate  change, and to lay the foundations
for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.

Indications of changes in the earth's future climate must be treated
with the utmost seriousness, and with the precautionary principle
uppermost in our minds. Extensive climate changes may alter and
threaten the living conditions of much of mankind. They may induce
large-scale migration and lead to greater competition for the earth's
resources. Such changes will place particularly heavy burdens on the
world's most vulnerable countries. There may be increased danger of
violent conflicts and wars, within and between states.

Through the scientific reports it has issued over the past two decades,
the IPCC has created an ever-broader informed consensus about the
connection between human activities and global warming. Thousands of
scientists and officials from over one hundred countries have
collaborated to achieve greater certainty as to the scale of the
warming. Whereas in the 1980s global warming seemed to be merely an
interesting hypothesis, the 1990s produced firmer evidence in its
support. In the last few years, the connections have become even
clearer and the consequences still more apparent.

Al Gore has for a long time been one of the world's leading
environmentalist

politicians. He became aware at an early stage of the climatic
challenges the world is facing. His strong commitment, reflected in
political activity,

lectures, films and books, has strengthened the struggle against
climate change. He is probably the single individual who has done most
to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to
be adopted.

By awarding the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 to the IPCC and Al Gore, the 
Norwegian Nobel Committee is seeking to contribute to a sharper focus
on the

processes and decisions that appear to be necessary to protect the
world's future climate, and thereby to reduce the threat to the
security of mankind.

Action is necessary now, before climate change moves beyond man's
control.

Oslo, 12 October 2007

                       ***

Here is a brief statement from Dr Saleemul Huq, Head of the Climate
Change Group at the International Institute for Environment and
Development (IIED) in response to the announcement today that the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Al Gore have won
the Nobel Peace Prize.

Dr Mike Shanahan
Press Officer
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
3 Endsleigh Street, London WC1H 0DD, UK.

Tel: +44 (0)20 7388 2117
Fax: +44 (0)20 7388 2826
Email: mike.shanahan at iied.org
http://www.iied.org

STATEMENT BEGINS

"The award recognises the work of hundreds of scientists from all
around the world who have been working for years to shed light on what
is happening to our climate, what is causing it to change, what the
consequences of that change are and what the global community can and
must do to avert a global disaster. The Nobel committee has rightly
recognised that the scientific evidence shows overwhelmingly that human
activities are changing our climate change in a way that threatens
peace, security, the natural environment and future generations. This
should give fresh impetus to efforts to agree action on cutting
greenhouse gas emissions and helping vulnerable communities to adapt to
the changes ahead. Meeting this global challenge will require both
political leadership and personal sacrifices the world over, but
particularly in the rich nations that have contributed most to the
problem historically."

STATEMENT ENDS.

Notes to editors

The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) is an
independent, non-profit research institute. Set up in 1971 and based in
London, IIED provides expertise and leadership in researching and
achieving sustainable development (see: http://www.iied.org). 

Saleemul Huq was a coordinating lead author of the latest IPCC report on
adaptation to climate change.

  **************************************************************************

IIED is a company limited by a guarantee and incorporated in England.
Reg. No 2188452. Registered office: 3 Endsleigh Street, London WC1H
0DD, UK. VAT Reg. No. GB 440 4948 50. Charity No. 800066
http://www.iied.org