New Brunswick, NJ The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on October 12 that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 would be shared, in two equal parts, between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Albert Arnold (Al) Gore Jr. 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.

In an October 12 IPCC press release, Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the IPCC, stated that, "This is an honour that goes to all the scientists and authors who have contributed to the work of the IPCC, which alone has resulted in enormous prestige for this organization and the remarkable effectiveness of the message that it contains."

Several Rutgers scientists were participants in the IPCC and contributed to its series of climate assessments as contributing authors or reviewers. They are: Richard Anyah, research associate, Anthony Broccoli, associate professor, Alan Robock, professor II, and Georgiy Stenchikov, research professor, all in the Department of Environmental Sciences; Jennifer Francis, research professor, and Paul Falkowski, professor II, Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences; David Robinson, professor, Department of Geography; and Monica Mazurek, assistant professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

The role of the IPCC is to assess on a comprehensive, objective, open and transparent basis the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation. The IPCC does not carry out research nor does it monitor climate related data or other relevant parameters. It bases its assessment mainly on peer reviewed and published scientific/technical literature. The ongoing climate change research at Rutgers is part of the global body of work that formed the basis for the IPCC reports.

For information on the Rutgers Climate and Environmental Change Initiative, go to http://climatechange.rutgers.edu/. For additional information about the Nobel Prize announcement, go to http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2007/press.html. For additional information about IPCC, go to http://www.ipcc.ch/.

Contact:

Michele Hujber

732-932-7000 x 4204

E-mail: hujber@aesop.rutgers.edu