THE BODY AS A BATTLEFIELD

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Hammarskjöld's biographer, Roger Lipsey, takes a closer look at who Hammarskjöld was as a UN's Secretary-General. The lecture is followed by a conversation between Roger Lipsey and Professor Bernt Hagtvet.

When period poverty has become an accepted term – we've got a problem

The Nobel Peace Center is closed due to the coronavirus

So, what is the connection between the Nobel Peace Prize and climate change? To connect the dots, we need to understand Alfred Nobel´s vision and the Norwegian Nobel Committee. 

Born in Sweden in 1833, Alfred Nobel was a man of the world – by the age of 17 he was fluent in Swedish, Russian, French, English and German. He was an inventor by heart, and he accumulated a whopping 355 patents, including dynamite. 

Nobel had a grand and inspiring vision – a vision of a better world. In his last will, Nobel left much of his wealth for the establishment of a prize now known as the Nobel Prize. The set of prize-categories would reward discoveries that confer the greatest benefit to humankind, and Nobel included a prize for persons or organizations who promoted peace. Nobel believed that people could improve society through knowledge, science and humanism, and he was very interested in issues related to social justice and peace – issues that were considered radical in his era. 

Nobel was not the only Swede who dared to think radically at the time. Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius asked, in 1896, the question that would pave the way for the greatest topic of our generation:

"Is the mean temperature of the ground in any way influenced by the presence of the heat-absorbing gases in the atmosphere?"

With this single question, Arrhenius became the father of climate change. Arrhenius believed that what we humans were doing – burning fossil fuel on a large scale – would make countries warmer. He was the first person to investigate the effect CO2 would have on the global climate. But, alas, a century later, with all the information and knowledge we have, we are still using fossil fuel as one of our main sources of energy.

Arrhenius´ education was actually not in climate research, but in electrochemistry, and he was later awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his work on the electrolytic theory of dissociation. 

In the earliest years, the Nobel Peace Prize was often awarded to pioneers of the organized peace movements. But over time, the Prize has been awarded in recognition of different kinds of peace work. It has evolved and shifted its focus, from pioneers to politicians who sought to promote international peace and stability.

Svante Arrhenius did not get a Peace Prize and his work on climate and carbon emissions was pretty much forgotten for more than half a century, largely because most people did not believe that human activity could have an impact on the earth’s climate. But in the 21st century, the Norwegian Nobel Committee embraced the efforts made to limit the harm done by man-made climate change and threats to the environment.

In 2007, the Norwegian Nobel Committee stayed true to Alfred Nobel´s grand vision of creating a better world by awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and former US Vice President Al Gore Jr. They were awarded the Prize for their efforts to obtain and disseminate greater knowledge concerning man-made climate changes and the steps that need to be taken to counteract those changes.

The IPCC was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1988, and its purpose was to collect research and report on the state of the climate. Between 1990 and 2007, four reports were submitted by the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, pushing climate change into the spotlight and onto the front page. The reports stated, as Arrhenius had predicted, that climate change was to a significant extent man-made, but also that it was accelerating. The reports also stated that there was an urgent need to adopt counter-measures in order to prevent a global climate crisis from arising in the near future. Not only will it become a global climate crisis, but according to the IPCC, there is a real danger that the changes will increase the number of conflicts and wars, due to already scarce and unequal distribution of natural resources.

Eleven years after Gore and IPCC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the IPCC issued a new climate change report. The report stressed the disastrous consequences of what an increase of 2 degrees Celsius would mean for our climate. With carbon emissions on the rise, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate warned, once again, that rapid action is needed. 

According to the UN, more than half of those hungry in 2016 – 489 million people – were in countries affected by conflicts. And these have rapidly become more numerous, increasingly in tandem with droughts, floods and other climate-related disasters.

“The risks associated with climate-related disasters do not represent a scenario of some distant future. They are already a reality for millions of people around the globe – and they are not going away,” said Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs in January 2019. 

Conflicts and insecurity, triggered by hunger and climate disasters, are driving people into displacement. The global society should be helping to improve society through knowledge, science and humanism, in the spirit of Alfred Nobel. When we invest in the fight against climate change, we invest in sustainable peace and in the end our own security.

The Nobel Peace Prize is rewarded engaged planetary citizens, who dare to come up with radical ideas that confer the greatest benefit to humankind. Such as ideas to reduce climate change, because sustainable peace requires and needs immediate climate action. But the planet needs more than empty talk. And it needs more than a Prize. Alfred Nobel once said that good wishes alone will not ensure peace. And he was right.

A 123-year-old fact and the Nobel Peace Prize 

Behind the Peace Symbol 

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has always supported humanitarian efforts. This is in keeping with the purpose expressed in Alfred Nobel’s last will and testament, to promote “fraternity among nations.” By calling attention to activities mitigating the horrors of war, the Committee hoped to eliminate the bitterness and revanchist thinking that could lead to new wars.

The Nobel Committee has repeatedly selected laureates involved in humanitarian efforts providing food, clothing or medicines to those in need. As early as 1901, Henry Dunant was recognized for founding the Red Cross (ICRC) to aid victims of war. Fridtjof Nansen’s efforts on behalf of prisoners of war and refugees after WWI were held up as an example. The same was true for many others who showed that, through pragmatic action, it was possible to alleviate human suffering.

Here are five examples to be inspired by:

Albert Schweitzer — “Le Grand Docteur”

Doctor, theologian, philosopher and musician, Albert Schweitzer believed in the principle of “reverence for life”.

He held organ concerts internationally to finance his medicine studies. He also raised funds for materials, medicine and equipment for his hospital in Lambarene, Gabon. This hospital became his life’s work. He dedicated his life to treating patients suffering from a host of illnesses.

Albert Schweitzer received the Nobel Peace Prize for 1952.

"His work has made the concept of brotherhood a living one, and his words have reached and taken root in the minds of countless men." - Gunnar Jahn, Chairman of the Nobel Committee

In 1949, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the chief architect of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization . As director-general of the FAO, 

 helped to save millions of people from starvation after WWII.

In 1970, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to 

. In the 1940s and 50s, agricultural scientist and plant pathologist, Norman Borlaug, worked in Mexico on a research program seeking to enhance Mexico’s self-sufficiency in grain production. Borlaug promoted better cultivation methods and developed a robust wheat strain — “dwarf wheat” — adapted to conditions in Mexico. In 1956, Mexico became self-sufficient in wheat production for the first time, and Borlaug’s success made him a sought-after adviser.

During the severe food shortage in India and Pakistan in the 1960s, he introduced dwarf wheat strains to India and Pakistan, leading to a dramatic rise in wheat production, and saving millions from the threat of famine.

Borlaug became known as the father of the “Green Revolution” and worked tirelessly throughout his life to increase world food production.

The first High Commissioner for Refugees,

, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922 for providing aid to Russian refugees. The League of Nations carried on Nansen’s work through the Nansen International Office for Refugees, which was the recipient of the Peace Prize in 1938. The legacy of Fridtjof Nansen was upheld throughout the 20th century. The 

 received the Peace Prize in both 1954 and 1981.

By awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to the UNHCR, the Nobel Committee wished to raise awareness of the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. The Convention stipulates that refugees should be ensured international legal protection and be granted fundamental rights in their host countries.

In the early 1950s, most of the world’s refugees were found in Western Europe and the Middle East. At that time, there were roughly 200 refugee camps in Austria, Greece, Italy and West Germany. Large groups of refugees were also found in Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

 was awarded the prize for the second time, in 1981, the situation was very different. Enormous efforts had been made to protect refugees in Africa, Asia and Latin America in the 1970s. The dramatic situation of the Vietnamese boat refugees helped to put the refugee problem on the international agenda in the early 1980s. The human rights violations following their flight from the communist regime in Vietnam received extensive coverage in the international media .

Created in 1946 to provide food, clothing and health care to European children facing famine and disease after World War II, 

was supposed to be a temporary relief agency. It became a permanent part of the 

 in 1953, and has since become a global organisation, assisting children everywhere. By awarding the 1965 Nobel Peace Prize to UNICEF, the Nobel Committee emphasized children’s rights, for the first time, adding a new dimension to the promotion of peace.

The nomination archive reveals this report by advisor Torkel Opsahl:

«UNICEF’s work for peace takes the form of action, rather than words. It is fundamental, extensive and has a positive impact. In my opinion, therefore, it must be valued higher than most of the proposals I have had to deal with.»

Common banks refuse to grant loans to people with nothing to offer as security. Luckily, Professor 

 had a simple idea: lending poor people a small amount of money — a microloan — to enable them to start their own businesses and thereby climb out of poverty. Yunus presented his idea to the established banks, but they were sceptical. The bankers did not believe that poor people would be able to repay the money they had borrowed. Therefore, Yunus started lending people money from his own pocket, and gave borrowers advice about how to put it to the best use. He soon saw that people repaid what they had borrowed and, in 1983, he set up 

The Grameen Bank provides loans and other services to people who would otherwise have no access to such assistance. Loans are granted for income-generating activities, such as purchasing farm animals, which can be turned into goods for sale. Families and local communities prosper as a result of the bank’s services, and it has inspired similar efforts worldwide.

The Grameen model has given people worldwide the chance to create a better life for themselves and contribute to local development. Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. The Nobel Committee described Yunus as a leader who had succeeded in translating his vision into practical actions — to the benefit of millions.

Courageous, resolute and ingenious, the laureates featured here stood for rights many of us are lucky enough to take for granted: food, health care, education, but also protection and dignity.

“Let us never tire of helping the victims of injustice and oppression. He who puts his faith in the restoration of human dignity cannot be wrong.” 

- Gerrit Jan van Heuven Goedhart, UN Refugee Agency

World Humanitarian Day takes place every year on 19 August to recognize the aid workers who risk their lives in humanitarian service and mobilize people to advocate for humanitarian action.

This article was first published on Medium by 

, Museum Educator at the Nobel Peace Center.

Behind the Peace Symbol

A 123-year-old fact and the Nobel Peace Prize

The World Needs More Humanitarian Heroes

WHAT´S ON

THE BODY AS A BATTLEFIELD

Crossroads Ethiopia

PERMANENT EXHIBITIONS

CANCELLED - GUIDED TOUR - APR.11

CANCELLED - GUIDED TOUR - APR.12

Nobel Lecture 2019 – Abiy Ahmed Ali

The Legacy Of Dag Hammarskjöld

When period poverty has become an accepted term – we've got a problem

The Nobel Peace Center is closed due to the coronavirus

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Nobel Peace Center

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Behind the Peace Symbol

A 123-year-old fact and the Nobel Peace Prize

The World Needs More Humanitarian Heroes

WHAT´S ON

THE BODY AS A BATTLEFIELD

Crossroads Ethiopia

PERMANENT EXHIBITIONS

CANCELLED - GUIDED TOUR - APR.11

CANCELLED - GUIDED TOUR - APR.12

Nobel Lecture 2019 – Abiy Ahmed Ali

The Legacy Of Dag Hammarskjöld

When period poverty has become an accepted term – we've got a problem

The Nobel Peace Center is closed due to the coronavirus

Sign up for our newsletter

Connect with us

Opening Hours

Tickets

Nobel Peace Center

Contact Us

Behind the Peace Symbol