Former Vice President Al Gore '69 and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize today for their work in spreading awareness of global warming.

The Nobel Committee said in a statement that Gore “is probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted.”

Earlier this year, Gore’s documentary on global warming, ‘The Inconvenient Truth,’ won 2 Academy Awards. He has since traveled extensively to lecture about climate change.

The Nobel Committee strongly praised the efforts of Gore and the IPCC for driving increased recognition of global warming’s threat. In the 1980s it “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 consequences still more apparent.”

Gore said in a statement today that “we face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue; it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity.”

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon lauded Gore's efforts as a reflection of how individuals and groups can crystallize awareness of global warming. He said he now hopes that all nations will “commit themselves to a real breakthrough” at December’s annual climate treaty conference in Indonesia.

Gore will donate his half of the $1.5 million prize to the non-profit Alliance for Climate Protection, where he serves as the chairman of the board.

--Material from the Associated Press were used in the reporting of this story.
--Check thecrimson.com throughout the weekend for updates.