Gary Yohe, the Woodhouse/Sysco Professor of
Economics, is a senior member and coordinating lead author on the United
Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is a co-recipient
of the 2007 the Nobel Peace Prize.
The other co-recipient was former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.
The official press statement from The Norwegian Nobel Committee cited the
IPCC and Gore 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."
IPCC efforts were also further noted in the statement:
"Through the scientific reports it has issued over the past two decades, the
IPCC has created an ever-broader informed consensus about the connection
between human activities and global warming. Thousands of scientists and
officials from over one hundred countries have collaborated to achieve
greater certainty as to the scale of the warming. Whereas in the 1980s
global warming seemed to be merely an interesting hypothesis, the 1990s
produced firmer evidence in its support. In the last few years, the
connections have become even clearer and the consequences still more
apparent."
Yohe, who has been involved with IPCC for more than a decade, is one of the
leading members of the panel. Currently he serves as the Coordinating Lead
Author in the Contribution of Working Group II of the Fourth Assessment
Report and member of the Core Writing Team for the Synthesis Report of the
Fourth Assessment.
When contacted about the award, Yohe was elated.
"The authors who participate in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change have always been secure in the knowledge that their assessments
contribute to their respective climate research communities," Yohe said. "We
are, as well, always gratified when the member nations of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change accept the summary reports of our
work as the natural and social scientific basis for their negotiations on
how to frame global climate policy. It is now particularly rewarding to hear
that the Nobel Committee thinks so highly of our work and recognizes its
role in elevating the public discourse on climate change. We are,
collectively, humbled and invigorated by this award."
Yohe is featured in a New York Times article
about the award at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/13/science/13climate.html?ex=1192852800&en=25796fc30d0797cc&ei=5070&emc=eta1;
A Hartford Courant article at:
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-yohe1013.artoct13,0,812879.story;
And on WNPR Connecticut Public Radio at:
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wnpr/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1165858
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