NZ scientists recognised in Nobel Prize win

Hon David Parker
Minister Responsible for Climate Change Issues

13 October 2007 Media Statement

Work of NZ scientists recognised in Nobel Prize win

Climate Change Minister David Parker has congratulated New Zealand scientists working on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, after the panel won the Nobel Peace Prize, alongside US climate change campaigner Al Gore.

“Thanks to the work of the IPCC we know how human activity is contributing to dangerous climate change, how that climate change will affect us, and what we need to do to make a difference.

“It’s fitting that this international group of scientists and academics has been recognised with this prestigious award, and I’m proud of New Zealand’s contribution to the panel.

NIWA’s Dr David Wratt is a member of the IPCC bureau which manages the process of producing the organisation’s high profile six-yearly reports, and there are around a hundred other New Zealand scientists also involved in the report production, as well as other important aspects of IPCC research, David Parker said.

“As is often the case, New Zealand’s contribution is well beyond what you might expect for a small country.

David Parker said the work of the IPCC had been influential in shaping the Labour-led government’s determination to give climate change and sustainability the priority it deserves.

“As a result of their work, and that of people like Al Gore in bringing it to the public consciousness, I am optimistic that the world can work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and tackle this pressing global challenge.”

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