SECRETARY-GENERAL PAYS TRIBUTE TO BERT BOLIN, CO-FOUNDER OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL

PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE, AFTER PIONEERING GLOBAL WARMING SCIENTIST DIES AT 82

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The Secretary-General pays tribute to Professor Bert Bolin, the pioneering scientist on global warming and co-founder of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, who has passed away at the age of 82.

The Secretary-General commends Professor Bolin's immeasurable contribution, not only in being one of the first to recognize the consequences of increasing emissions of greenhouse gases decades ago, but also in alerting the world to what was required by Governments to protect our planet from the impact.  He is moved that Professor Bolin was able to see the IPCC be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last month, and negotiations launched at the climate change conference in Bali.

The Secretary-General joins Professor Bolin's colleagues in IPCC and around the world in giving thanks for his work, and in resolving to build on his legacy.

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