The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to former US vice-president Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), headed by Indian scientist Dr RK Pachauri, on Friday. Their achievement: international action on climate change before it gets out of mankind’s control, the Nobel Committee said in Oslo on Friday.
Minutes after receiving a congratulatory call from Al Gore, the 67-year-old Dr Pachauri, said, “I cannot believe it. I feel privileged sharing the award with someone as distinguished as Al Gore”. He dedicated the award to hundreds of scientists and authors who are attached with the IPCC.
Developed world is the biggest polluter, so it has a bigger commitment to reduce emissions - RK PachauriGore had lectured extensively on the threat of global warming through his Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth, whereas the IPCC created an ever-broader informed consensus between human activities and global warming, the Nobel Committee said.
Pachauri agreed with the citation that warned of the future dangers of global warning, saying it has the potential to disturb peace through a major impact in vulnerable areas. It called for a mechanism where the developed and the developing world can reach a consensus on greenhouse gas reduction after 2050. “The developed world has a bigger commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as they are bigger polluters,” he said.
He also expressed his disappointment at the world community for not doing enough to reduce carbon emissions.