Professor Mohan Munasinghe

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II congratulated Professor Mohan Munasinghe on sharing the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his work on climate change. From historic Westminster Abbey, London, he had the unique honour of delivering a special message on climate change and sustainable development, to commonwealth citizens in 53 member countries, at the recent 2008 Commonwealth Day celebrations. Mrs. Sria Munasinghe, Vice Chair of MIND was also present.

Prof. Mohan Munasinghe honoured by His Excellency Luiz Henrique da Silveira

Prof. Mohan Munasinghe (right), Vice Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize is shown receiving the Anita Garibaldi Gold Medal and Certificate, the highest Brazilian decoration for meritorious and exceptional contributions to humanity. The award was made on 30 November 2007 by His Excellency Luiz Henrique da Silveira (left), Governor of Santa Caterina, Brazil, in the presence of Prof. Muhamed Yunus (centre), the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, who also received the same medal.

Prof. Mohan Munasinghe and Ban Ki-moon

Prof. Mohan Munasinghe, Vice Chairman, UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) greets His Excellency Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General, at the IPCC Plenary in Valencia on 17 November 2007. Mr. Ki-moon congratulated the IPCC on winning the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, and successfully completing the Fourth Assessment Report which provides the most authoritative review of climate change. Earlier, Prof. Munasinghe gave a keynote speech on â€œClimate Change and Sustainable Developmentâ€�, summarizing the IPCC results at a special session of the UN General Assembly in New York. He is also Chairman of the Munasinghe Institute for Development (MIND), Colombo.

Prof. Mohan Munasinghe and Her Excellency Marina Silva

Prof. Munasinghe, Vice Chair, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) being congratulated by Her Excellency Marina Silva, Brazilian Minister of Environment, on behalf of the Government of Brazil, on the award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize to the IPCC, at a special conference held in Rio de Janeiro in October 2007. Prof. Munasinghe also presented to Minister Marina Silva, a copy of his new book â€œMaking Development More Sustainableâ€�, which explains how climate change and sustainable development policies can be fully integrated.

Prof.Mohan Munasinghe and His Excellency Winston Dan

Prof. Mohan Munasinghe, accepted felicitations and a commemorative trophy from His Excellency Winston Dang, Taiwan Minister of Environment, on behalf of the Government of Taiwan, for sharing the Nobel Peace Prize 2007, in Taipei on 5 November 2007. Prof. Munasinghe also presented to Minister Dang, a copy of his new book â€œMaking Development More Sustainable.

Professor Mohan Munasinghe was felicitated by four Cabinet Ministers, on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, for bringing great honour to the country by becoming the first Sri Lankan to share a coveted Nobel Prize. Shown are Hon. John Seneviratne, Minister of Power & Energy, Hon. A.H.M. Fowzie, Minister of Petroleum & Petroleum Resources Development, and Hon. Champika Ranawaka, Minister of Environment & Natural Resources. Hon. P. Dayaratne, Minister of Plan Implementation is not shown. Professor Munasinghe received a commemorative trophy at the special ceremony organized by the Sri Lanka Energy Managers Association (SLEMA).

As Vice Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Prof. Mohan Munasinghe shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with other IPCC colleagues and Al Gore, for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change. Prof. Munasinghe is the first Sri Lankan to receive this coveted award.

The IPCC is a UN â€œThink Tankâ€� consisting of the worldâ€™s leading experts on climate change. It was created by the World Metorological Organisation (WMO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) over 20 years ago. Prof. Munasinghe has contributed to all four of the authoritative assessments on climate change produced by the IPCC in 1990, 1995, 2001 and 2007.

Prof. Munasinghe has been in the forefront of the IPCC efforts recognized by the Nobel Prize award -- to integrate climate change policies into development strategy, and thereby make development more sustainable. He proposed the Sustainomic Framework at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rid de Janeiro, to practically achieve this goal, based on the sustainable development triangle (with social, economic and environmental dimensions). The methodology has been widely applied worldwide to jointly address climate change and sustainable development, the two pre-eminent issues of the 21st century.

Prof. Munasinghe is also Chairman of the Munasinghe Institute for Development (MIND), which has contributed to the work of the IPCC. MIND is a non-profit body which provides scholarships to Sri Lankan students and conducts research and training work worldwide on climate change and sustainable development.

In its recently released report, the IPCC states that global warming is unequivocal and very likely caused by human activities that have steadily increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (especially carbon dioxide) since the industrial revolution. Among the alarming outcomes are increased global average temperatures (around 3Â°C by 2100), sea level rise (about 0.4 metres by 2100), more severe droughts and floods, and increases in extreme weather events like cyclones and storms.Ironically, while GHG emissions from rich countries have contributed most to global warming, the poor countries will be hardest hit, and poor groups will be the most vulnerable. Thus, climate change will significantly worsen existing problems like poverty, hunger and disease. More generally, unchecked climate changes will alter and threaten the living conditions of the over 6 billion inhabitants of the planet, who are all stakeholders.

Through the scientific reports it has issued over the past two decades, the dedicated scientists in the IPCC have created an ever-broader informed consensus about the connection between human activities and global 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 dire consequences still more apparent.

By awarding the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 to the IPCC Team and Al Gore, the Nobel Prize Committee is seeking to contribute to a sharper focus on the processes and decisions that appear to be necessary to protect the worldâ€™s future climate, and thereby to reduce the threat to the security of humankind. Prompt action by world leaders and all concerned stakeholders is necessary now, before climate change moves beyond human control.