By Alfred de Tavares, IANS
Stockholm : Nobel Laureates Rajendra K. Pachauri of India and Al Gore of the US have warned that the world does not have the “luxury of time” in dealing with climate change and stressed that salvation lay in planet earth alone.
While addressing the Swedish parliament Wednesday, Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), scoffed at those who claim, “the salvation of our planet lies in resources from other planets”.
“I have better news, very good news”, declared Pachauri: “We do not have to wait for help from others planets; we have it all here, all the necessary resources, right here. We only have to properly husband them”.
After a welcome by the speaker of the Riksdag, Per Westerberg, Wednesday, the Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt held an opening address, followed by speeches by Pachauri and Gore, former US vice president.
“It is the greatest honour in my life to have had this opportunity to share the Nobel Peace Prize with my good friend, Rajendra Pachauri and the UN’s panel on Climate, IPCC”, Al Gore, the reigning global super-star of climate debate, told a packed parliament. “It is they who have been the forerunners in this fight and that have achieved much”.
Pachauri, in his turn, heaped unstinted praise and gratitude upon the Swedish founder of the IPCC and its first chairman, the renowned eco-scientist Bert Bolin.
Pachauri said: “Professor Bert Bolin is the true founder of IPCC and all we stand for. I am very proud over the privilege of having him as my mentor and being enabled to follow in his footsteps.
“In fact, when I learnt that IPCC had been awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, my first instinct was to request Bolin to receive the award in Oslo. However, health reasons prevented him acceding to my genuine request.”
Pachauri’s sentiments were echoed by his fellow laureate: “Upon learning that I had been awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize I first rang up Rajendra Pachauri and immediately after, Bert Bolin.
“The whole world owes Bolin immeasurable gratitude for his indomitable scientific pioneering work to unfold to the world the awesome knowledge of the greenhouse effects and all the dangers they hold”, said Gore.
The 82-year old wheelchair-bound scientist, present in the Riksdag for his disciples’ accolades, was visibly moved as he said: “It is, indeed, wonderful to receive such formal recognition, even though it is the actual work and its achievements that are most important.
“Right now it is of greatest importance that Al Gore, Rajendra Pachauri and others gathered in Bali achieve the goals we all are striving for. Its significance cannot, by any length, be overstated, exaggerated”.
Al Gore pointed out with great satisfaction the “Swedish way of dealing with the difficult climate crisis” citing that the much respected German environmental organisation, the Germanwatch, has recently ranked Sweden the foremost (environmentally conscious) nation in the world.
“We devoutly hope”, said Pachauri, “Sweden continues to develop technologies jointly with developing countries, especially African and Asian countries, as it has for so long been doing with such dedication”.
Both Pachauri and Gore, unequivocally, stressed that “there is absolutely no time to lose” and that the warning “applies indiscriminately to the entire world”.
Referring to the status quo in Bali, Al Gore went on: “They are talking about bringing around viable changes in the next two-five years. We simply don’t have the luxury of that much time”.
“Until recently”, said Gore, “we predicted looming danger to our grandchildren; than we thought our children’s time would already be affected; now, we are alarmed to realise that it is already our lifetime that stands to feel the change in all its harshness”.