Nigeria: Al Gore's Award: A Fresh Impetus

http://allafrica.com/stories/200710151559.html

Nigeria: Al Gore's Award, Fresh Impetus


This Day (Lagos)

OPINION
15 October 2007
Posted to the web 15 October 2007

Paul Ohia
Lagos

Dr Saleemul Huq, Head of the Climate Change Group at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) has described the Nobel Award for former US Vice President Al Gore as giving fresh impetus to efforts to agree action on cutting greenhouse gas emissions and helping vulnerable communities to adapt to the changes ahead.

His statement circulated by Dr Mike Shanahan, the Press Officer at IIED continued "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.

Hug said the awards 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.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.

Gore and a United Nations panel were awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for their continued fight against global warming. According to the San Francisco Chronicle's web site, "Gore, 59, said he planned to donate his half of the $1.5 million prize to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan nonprofit group.

Gore, chairman of the alliance board, met with the group in Palo Alto." Gore, with his wife, Tipper by his side, said the prize is "just the beginning," in the long and arduous fight against global warming. A climate scientist from Harvard University elaborated on the award's significance,

"The award establishes that change is the most challenging of all environmental problems tat threaten peace and prosperity," said John Holdren, who also chairs the board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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Yes, this is truly fresh impetus for a new day for the global community. With the Nobel Peace Prize added to Mr. Gore's amazing abilities and vision, wonderful things can be accomplished in communities that as of now have little to no hope. This is my wish... for Mr. Gore to take what this award represents and to be a true global leader who brings hope, opportunity, and education to communities around the world including the U.S. where he is already doing that through The Climate Project and The Alliance for Climate Protection.

When I stated that I believe this Nobel Peace Prize raises him now above a president I meant it. This is not just some temporary job that will in the end judge him harshly. This is a prestigious honor that will last for a lifetime. There is no limit now to what he can do with the resources available to him on a global scale, and I suspect that he will now be receiving many requests from communities all over the world to be a guiding force for change.

And while I am saddened by reports of the damage we have done to this planet and ourselves being far worse and excelerating at a faster pace than was first thought or predicted, I am now much more hopeful knowing that Mr. Gore and others are going to be devoting their time to empowering, educating, and inspiring people specifically I hope in the poorer communities of our planet who need that the most in order for us to be able to face this global challenge as we need to right now.

I have never been prouder to call myself a supporter of this man, because he inspires me to be a better person too and to speak about this crisis to others. No political campaign can now match what he has at his disposal or what he has and will accomplish, and I am so grateful to see him doing this work because it is urgent that it be done. Awareness of this crisis must now lead to viable solutions and the only global leader I trust to see that happen is the Honorable Al Gore, Nobel Laureate.