Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), were awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Monday.

 

At a grand awards ceremony, the two winners of the Nobel peace laurel shared the honor for warning the world against the severe consequences of global warming.

 

Pachauri told the gathering of more than 1,000 dignitaries that climate change has brought a grave impact on the security of drinking water, food, sanitation and ecological resources.

 

He appealed for timely and appropriate actions not only by scientists, but the whole world, to tackle the threat from climate change.

 

Gore warned that global warming poses a threat to the survival of human civilization, urging immediate action and worldwide mobilization to counter the challenges posed by climate change.

 

In his speech, Nobel Committee Chairman Ole Danbolt Mjoes expressed his appreciation of the efforts by Gore and the IPCC chairman to focus world attention on climate change. He also awarded both winners the Nobel Peace Prize.

 

Nobel prizes have been awarded annually since 1901 to those who "conferred the greatest benefit on mankind during the preceding year."

 

The prizes are usually announced in October and are handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the 1896 death of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish industrialist and the inventor of dynamite.

 

Each prize consists of a medal, a personal diploma and a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (1.53 million U.S. dollars).

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 11, 2007)