Nobel Laureates call for global deal on climate crisis
Nobel Laureates have called for urgent action for a ‘low carbon and equitable future’. The announcement, which is part of a larger memorandum, is the outcome of the St James’s Palace Nobel Laureate Symposium held this week in London.
The conclusions of the Nobel Laureate Symposium were presented yesterday at a press conference at St James’s Palace as a memorandum to international policy makers in the lead up to the UN Climate ChangeConference in Copenhagen.
Particularly topical in light of the forthcoming conference in Copenhagen, the St James’s Palace Memorandum calls for a global deal on climate change that matches the scale and urgency of the human, ecological and economic crises facing the world today. It urges governments at all levels, as well as thescientific community, to join with business and civil society to seize hold of this historic opportunity to transform our carbon-intensive economies into sustainable and equitable systems. It concludes with a call to recognize the fierce urgency of now: “We know what needs to be done. We cannot wait until it is too late. We cannot wait until what we value most is lost.”
The full text of the Memorandum is available on the web site www.nobelcause.org
The Memorandum was signed by Literature Laureate, Wole Soyinka and Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai, as well as by Laureates in Chemistry, Physics and Economics. Responses to the Memorandum were given at the Symposium by The Rt. Hon Ed Miliband, MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change in the UK Government and by Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
US Secretary of Energy and winner of the 1997 Nobel Prize for Physics Stephen Chu, who attended the Symposium commented: “The Nobel Laureate Symposium has been a valuable opportunity to collaborate with the world’s best scientists on the important energy, economic and climate challenges the world faces.
Today’s Declaration by the Nobel Laureates reflects the consensus of scientists both that the threat of global warming is real and that it is not yet too late for us to take action to prevent the worst consequences. I’m a scientist, but I’m also now a government official. And while it’s not appropriate for me as a government official to join a private petition intended to influence governments, I’m deeply committed to helping the Obama Administration deliver on the bold and necessary changes the President has outlined. I have never been as optimistic as I am today that we have a real chance for action to address this crisis and fundamentally transform the way we use and produce energy. I appreciate the important work and ideas of my fellow Nobel Laureates, and I look forward to working with them and others around the world to seize the opportunity before us.”
Symposium background information:
The St James’s Palace Nobel Laureate Symposium was hosted at the Royal Society and St. James’s Palace under the patronage of HRH The Prince of Wales and convened by the University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership in association with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
Around 60 leading scientists from various disciplines, among them 20 Nobel Laureates (including prize winners in Chemistry, Economics, Literature, Peace and Physics), met this week to discuss the dimensions of the climate crisis and innovative strategies for solutions. Dr. Steven Chu, US Secretary of Energy and Nobel Laureate in Physics, delivered a keynote presentation on the second day of the symposium.
A major item of the agenda was measures to counter deforestation, and included presentations by Lord Nicholas Stern, Prof. Simon Schama and Prof. Wangari Maathai in the presence of HRH The Prince of Wales, who also addressed the Symposium. The Symposium also addressed issues of energy and infrastructure, as well as, more broadly, the role of the scientist in society and the coordination of global responses to the challenges.
About the University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership
The University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership (CPSL) works with business, government and civil society to build leaders’ capacity to meet the needs of society and address critical global challenges. Its seminars and leadership groups and its partnerships with those who make or influence decisions are designed to transform public and private sector policies and practices and build greater understanding of our interdependence with one another and the natural world. Its network of alumni brings together the most influential leaders in the world who share an interest in and a commitment to creating a sustainable future.
CPSL is an institution within the School of Technology. It works in close collaboration with individual academics and many other departments of the University. HRH The Prince of Wales is its patron and it is also a member of The Prince’s Charities, a group of not-for-profit organisations of which His Royal Highness is President.
For further information please contact:
Sheila von Rimscha
University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership
1 Trumpington St
Cambridge CB2 1QA
Svr22@cpsl.cam.ac.uk
www.cpsl.cam.ac.uk
www.nobelcause.org
+44 1223 768845