Al Gore and U.N. Panel Share Nobel Peace Prize for Work on Global Warming

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have been awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for their ongoing work to alert the world to the threat of global warming.

In its citation, the Nobel Committee said that Gore and the IPCC would share the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize equally “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.”

_{Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and his wife Tipper arrive to speak to reporters at a news conference after he was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his work on global warming. -- Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images}

Gore has worked tirelessly for years to raise public and political awareness about the dangers of global warming and the need for swift action to reduce and mitigate those threats. Recently, Gore’s efforts have received international attention because of the popular film, An Inconvenient Truth, which showcased Gore’s warnings and won two Academy Awards.

The IPCC is a UN-sponsored panel of more than 2,000 scientists from around the world that monitors, reviews and evaluates climate research and produces periodic reports on climate change. A series of IPCC reports released in 2007 provide the best assessment to date of the causes and dangers of global warming as well as strategies for mitigation.

Gore Donates Nobel Prize Money to Raise Global Warming Awareness
Gore, who was in San Francisco when he got word of the award, said in a statement that he would donate his share of the prize money to the Alliance for Climate Protection, “a bipartisan non-profit organization that is devoted to changing public opinion in the US and around the world about the urgency of solving the climate crisis."

"I am deeply honoured to receive the Nobel Peace Prize," Gore said. "This award is even more meaningful because I have the honor of sharing it with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – the world's pre-eminent scientific body devoted to improving our understanding of the climate crisis – a group whose members have worked tirelessly and selflessly for many years."

“We face a true planetary emergency,” Gore said. “The climate crisis is not a political issue; it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity. It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level.”

Following the announcement, Gore supporters renewed their call for the U.S. former vice president to run for president in 2008. Gore, who lost his presidential bid in 2000, has repeatedly said he is not interested in running again, but he has never said that he won’t.

IPCC Head Claims Nobel Peace Prize Settles Global Warming Debate
Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, the scientist who leads the IPCC and is also director-general of the Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi, said that for Gore and the IPCC to receive the Nobel Peace Prize vindicated the efforts both had made to show the scientific basis for the effects of human activities on climate change.

“The message that it sends is that the Nobel Prize committee realized the value of knowledge in tackling the problem of climate change and the fact that the IPCC has an established record of producing knowledge and an impartial and objective assessment of climate change,” he said in an interview.

Dr. Pachauri said he thought the award would encourage governments around the world to take action on global warming.

“We will have to live with climate change up to a certain point of time, but if we want to avoid or delay much more serious damage then its essential that we start mitigation quickly and to a serious extent,” he said.

Global Warming and the Bush Administration
Following the announcement, reporters asked Norwegian Nobel Committee Chairman Ole Danbolt Mjoes whether the committee’s decision to showcase global warming by awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Gore and the IPCC was an indirect criticism of the Bush administration and its failure to provide international leadership on the issue.

He said the the committee was making an appeal to the entire world to unite against the threat of global warming, and added “the Nobel committee has never given a kick in the leg to anyone.”

"We would encourage all countries, including the big countries, to challenge all of them to think again and to say what can they do to conquer global warming,” he said. “The bigger the powers, the better that they come in front of this.”

In a statement congratulating Gore and the IPCC, Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope said, "The vast majority of the American people understand that global warming is real, is serious, and needs to be addressed. Mayors, governors, and state legislatures are taking the lead and implementing policies that protect our environment, create jobs, and fight global warming and our dangerous dependence on oil. Even major corporations are calling for action. The market stands poised to provide the solutions. The time has come for our national leaders to listen to the IPCC and follow Al Gore’s lead." More information:

• Nobel Committee press release
• Video of the Nobel Peace Prize announcement
• Bush Announces U.S. Plan to Tackle Global Warming
• UN Convenes Climate Change Summit; Bush Bows Out
• U.S. Pressures G-8 Nations to Weaken Stance on Global Warming
• Should the United States Ratify the Kyoto Protocol?
• Celebrating Al Gore and 156 Principled Visionaries in Congress -- Deborah White, U.S. Liberal Politics at About.com
• The All-American All-Stars -- Keith Porter, U.S. Foreign Policy at About.com
• Gore Third VP to Win Peace Prize -- Kathy Gill, U.S. Politics: Current Events at About.com
• Global Warming Images and Graphs -- Rachelle Oblack, Weather at About.com