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Gore for president?
12/10/2007 14:05 - (SA)
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| Al Gore addresses a plenary session during an Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. (AP File) |
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Oslo, Norway - Former US vice-president Al Gore and the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change jointly won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for their efforts to spread awareness of man-made climate change and to lay the foundations for fighting it.
Gore, who won an Academy Award earlier this year for his film on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, had been widely tipped to win the prize. The win is also likely to add further fuel to a burgeoning movement in the United States for Gore to run for president in 2008, which he has so far said he does not plan to do.
Gore called the award meaningful because of his co-winner, calling the IPCC the "world's pre-eminent scientific body devoted to improving our understanding of the climate crisis".
He said that global warming was not a political issue but a worldwide crisis.
"We face a true planetary emergency. ... It is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity," he said. "It is also our greatest opportunity to lift global consciousness to a higher level."
Gore said he planned to donate his share of the prize money to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan non-profit organisation that is devoted to changing public opinion in the US and around the world about the urgency of solving the climate crisis.
In its citation, the committee lauded Gore's "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".
'Many did not listen ... but he carried on'
Ole Danbolt Mjoes, chairperson of the prize committee, said the award should not be seen as singling out the administration of US President George W Bush for criticism.
But, in a nod to the 2008 elections, he said "I am very much in support for all who support changes."
"Al Gore has fought the environment battle even as vice president," Mjoes said. "Many did not listen ... but he carried on."
The last American to win the prize, or share it, was former US President Jimmy Carter, who won it 2002.
The committee cited the IPCC for its two decades of scientific reports that have "created an ever-broader informed consensus about the connection between human activities and global warming. Thousands of scientists and officials from over 100 countries have collaborated to achieve greater certainty as to the scale of the warming".
It went on to say that because of the panel's efforts, global warming has been increasingly recognised. In the 1980s it "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".
"It was a surprise," said Carola Traverso Saibante, spokesperson for the IPCC. "We would have been happy even if (Gore) had received it alone because it is a recognition of the importance of this issue."
'A political statement'
The prize decision was greeted with scepticism in some circles, however.
"Awarding it to Al Gore cannot be seen as anything other than a political statement. Awarding it to the IPCC is well-founded," said Bjorn Lomborg, author of The Skeptical Environmentalist.
He criticised Gore's film as having "some very obvious mistakes, like the argument that we're going to see six metres of sea-level rise", he said.
"They (Nobel committee) have a unique platform in getting people's attention on this issue, and I regret they have used it to make a political statement."
Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, said the prize would help to continue the globally growing awareness of climate change.
"Their contributions to the prevention of climate change have raised awareness all over the world. Their work has been an inspiration for politicians and citizens alike," he said in a statement.
"We believe that the Nobel Committee has shown great courage by so clearly connecting the climate problems with peace," said Truls Gulowsen, head of environmental group Greenpeace Norway.
- AP
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