In 2007, the world woke up to climate change. And former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and the UN IPCC received the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to trigger this global change of mind.
 | A Nobel Cause (click to enlarge)IPCC head Rajendra K. Pachauri (L) and former U.S. Vice-President Al Gore accept the Nobel Peace Prize in December 2007 (Photo: Reuters) |
The race to replace George W. Bush in the White House has begun, and its outcome will have a seismic effect on America and the world. But the headlines last year were dominated by a U.S. politician who will not be running for president - Al Gore, the man Bush narrowly defeated back in 2000.
Gore’s global fame illustrates what 2007 will be remembered for - the year that climate change gained worldwide attention, from the fourth UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report in January to the international Bali climate summit in December.
 | Picture Gallery (click on the image to start)The most important facts on climate change, 2007 (Graphic: IPCC) |
Scientists rarely make headlines, but 2007 saw them all over the front pages. The four reports issued by the IPCC, an international panel of thousands of scientists internationally, concluded with 90-percent certainty that man-made greenhouse gas emissions - not natural variations - are causing global warming.
Recognizing the importance of their work, the Norwegian Nobel Committee jointly awarded the IPCC and Al Gore the Nobel Peace Prize for "their efforts to build up and disseminate knowledge about man-made climate change." The committee also warned against the "increased danger of violent conflicts and wars, within and between states" posed by warming global temperatures.
The IPCC reports have become the basis for the ongoing international dialogue on how to tackle climate change. Faced with such overwhelming evidence, the United States dropped its long-standing reluctance to discuss how to effectively tackle global warming.
editor: James Tulloch
publishing date: January 2, 2008
