Al Gore recently gave his talk on global warming in Norway, to an audience that included one Ole Danbolt Mjoes.
Mjoes, as you may know, is the head of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee — though he insisted he was attending as a private citizen. He said Gore’s message is "very important," and took part in a one-minute standing ovation.
Reuters has more:
“I have Gore as a clear favorite,” said Stein Toennesson, head of the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo. “I think the committee will be unable to resist the temptation to add their voice” to concerns about global warming, he said.
Objections include that former U.S. President Jimmy Carter won only in 2002 and it may be too soon for another U.S. Democrat to win. The 2007 prize winner will be announced in October.
A Nobel for Gore would be a slap in the face for Republican President George W. Bush, who beat Gore to the presidency in 2000 and is accused by Gore of failing to do enough to slow climate change. Gore says he has no plans for a new presidential bid in 2008 but has not ruled it out.
Toennesson noted the world’s environment ministers will be meeting in December in Bali, Indonesia, to try to launch negotiations on a new climate treaty. The meeting will coincide with the handover of the peace prize in Oslo on December 10.
Question: would winning a Nobel Peace Prize make Gore more or less likely to run for president?
