Nobel Peace Prize presses urgency of climate action

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 has been awarded to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Al Gore, "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".

As a proud contributor to the IPCC's work since its inception, IIED congratulates the winners and their commitment to communicating the urgency of tackling climate change.

"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," says Saleemul Huq, head of IIED's climate change group.

"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," he says.

"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," he adds. "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."

Link to Nobel Prize press release

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Mike Shanahan
Press Officer
International Institute for Environment and Development
Email: mike.shanahan@iied.org
Tel: +44 (0)20 7872 7256
Fax: +44 (0)20 7388 2826
http://www.iied.org

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).