Al Gore wins Nobel Peace Prize

[Skylace]

OSLO, Norway - Former Vice President Al Gore and the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Friday for their efforts to spread awareness of man-made climate change and lay the foundations for counteracting it.

"I am deeply honored to receive the Nobel Peace Prize," Gore said in a statement. "We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity."

Gore won an Academy Award this year for his film "An Inconvenient Truth," a documentary on global warming, and had been widely expected to win the prize.
"His strong commitment, reflected in political activity, lectures, films and books, has strengthened the struggle against climate change," the citation said. "He is probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted."

It cited Gore's awareness at an early stage "of the climatic challenges the world is facing."

Panel's two decades
The committee also cited the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for two decades of scientific reports that have "created an ever-broader informed consensus about the connection between human activities and global warming."

The IPCC groups 2,500 researchers from more than 130 nations and issued reports this year blaming human activities for climate changes ranging from more heat waves to floods. It was set up in 1988 by the United Nations to help guide governments.

Climate change has moved high on the international agenda this year. The U.N. climate panel has been releasing reports, talks on a replacement for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on climate are set to resume and on Europe's northern fringe, where the awards committee works, there is growing concern about the melting Arctic.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said global warming "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."

Gore said he would donate his share of the $1.5 million that accompanies the prize to the non-profit Alliance for Climate Protection.

Ole Danbolt Mjoes, chairman of the prize committee, said the award should not be seen as singling out the Bush administration for criticism.

"A peace prize is never a criticism of anything. A peace prize is a positive message and support to all those champions of peace in the world."

President Bush abandoned the Kyoto Protocol because he said it would harm the U.S. economy and because it did not require immediate cuts by countries like China and India. The treaty aimed to put the biggest burden on the richest nations that contributed the most carbon emissions.

The U.S. Senate voted against mandatory carbon reductions before the Kyoto negotiations were completed. The treaty was never presented to the Senate for ratification by the Clinton administration.

“Al Gore has fought the environment battle even as vice president,” Mjoes said. “Many did not listen ... but he carried on.”

[Mandy]

"Al Gore has fought the environment battle even as vice president,"

Fought with LIES and misleading statements .. a perfect politician -- see other thread
"Gore climate film's 'nine errors'"

[faceless]

Mandy, are you saying that the Nobel judging panel have been misled?

[fritz]

Mandy your right.Mr. Gore should put the truth in his books along with lies.

[Lostinthestates]

I really don't get this! How did Gore contribute to Peace?? Just because he made one film/book surely doesn't qualify him! Also I read that the chemistry noble price went to someone solving the problem of turning harmful CO into CO2 (your catalytic converter in cars) - although he never invented that but this process was invented by industry. Politics rule I guess!!

[luke]

i thought the nobel peace prize was pretty much a joke since '73 when it was awarded to mass murderer, lord of the darkside, satans man on earth henry 'diablo' kissinger

i wonder how its decided, how the panel of judges is made up and the criteria for picking a winner ...

my cousin works for the government, they all had to watch this film recently!

[Mandy]

[Mandy]

[popinjay]

[Mandy]

[Griffo]

Isn't this the guy whos mansion was found to have a $30,000 electric bill per year?!

[Mandy]

[faceless]

The most important thing that comes from all this is that the large majority of people now realise that they can't carry on using and abusing the planet. Why they'd need a film or anything else to convince them is beyond me though - just look out your window!

[luke]

[Mandy]

People should put pressure on the government to stop the useless wars round the world (where one side or the other, or both, are financed by outside powers).

More money is lost in wars in Africa than is gained by debt relief