From Oslo, with warmth

A nobel is such an extraordinary prize that it is almost a challenge. The challenge is to remember the work that is being cited and the quiet and many claimants to the honour. This Nobel Peace Prize is an expression of appreciation for the entire scientific community that contributed to the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This also goes to the governments that supported the scientists and facilitated their work.

I merely speak as a spokesperson for the scientific and intellectual effort that has been put into this work. The honour that has come from the Nobel committee in Oslo today has enhanced our commitment to the cause.

The IPCC report has a policy implication to it. Its structure ensures that governments become stakeholders in the output and hence carry enormous strength in its implementation. The Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC — 'Climate Change 2007' — is a major advance over what we had earlier known about climate change. It marks a substantial increase in knowledge of the science related to climate change. The strength of the Fourth Assessment Report is apart from the physical scientific basis of climate change; it has much more information assessment of impacts across the globe.

Clearly, scientific research and knowledge have progressed substantially in this area to make it possible for the authors of IPCC reports to provide a more comprehensive scientific support for the findings of the previous reports. This makes it possible for policy makers to pinpoint what needs to be done.

For example, we know almost beyond doubt that we, the human race, have substantially altered the earth's atmosphere. In 2005 the concentration of carbon dioxide exceeded the natural range that has existed over 650,000 years. Eleven of the warmest years since instrumental records have been kept occurred during the last 12 years.

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