Foreign Minister Congratulates Newly Elected Vice-Chair for IPCC

7 September 2008, Male’; The Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid has extended warm congratulations to the newly elected Vice-Chair of the International Panel on Climate Change Working Group II, Mr. Amjad Abdulla from the Maldives.

In recognition of the vast contributions made by Mr. Abdulla, Minister Shahid remarked that this was a significant achievement for the Maldives as a small island nation so vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. He further highlighted that Mr. Abdulla’s position as the Vice-Chair of the IPCC Working Group II would further efforts in mitigating the human implications of climate change, and enhance focus on adaptability and vulnerability, so vital for the sustainability of the Maldives and other SIDS alike. 

The IPCC is a Nobel Prize-Winning organization, and Mr. Amjad Abdulla was elected to the new Bureau of the IPCC in the elections held in Geneva at the 29^th Plenary Session of the IPCC that was chaired by IPCC Chair, Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri.

Mr. Abdulla is the Director-General at the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water, and has extensive experience working in the field of climate change. He is also actively involved in the work of the IPCC, sitting as the Chairperson of its LDC Group.

ENDS.

4^th September 2008, Geneva : Mr. Amjad Abdulla from the Maldives was today elected to the new Bureau of the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) during elections held in Geneva, Switzerland. Mr. Abdulla, who works on climate change issues in the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Water beat off strong competition from other Asian countries to take one of the Vice-Chair positions in Working Group II which focuses on Climate Change Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation.

The election took place during the 29^th Plenary Session of the IPCC in Geneva, Switzerland, and was chaired by IPCC Chair, Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri.

The IPCC is a scientific intergovernmental body created to provide the world’s policymakers and climate change negotiators with an objective source of information about the causes of climate change, its potential environmental and socio-economic consequences, and the adaptation and mitigation options to respond to it. On 10^th December 2007, the IPCC together with Mr. Al Gore, was awarded the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize for its vital role in bringing the reality of climate change to the world’s attention and in moving the world towards a solution.

Members of the IPCC Bureau are elected for the duration of the preparation of an IPCC Assessment Report (5-6 years). They are experts in the field of climate change and all regions are represented in the Bureau.

The work of the IPCC will be particularly important over the next few years as world governments continue in their efforts to agree on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol. In this regard, the mandate and work of Working Group II on Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation will be very important in highlighting the consequences of climate change for people and communities around the planet – especially in vulnerable countries such as the Maldives.

Earlier during the 29^th Session, the Deputy Minister of the Environment, H.E. Mr. Abdullahi Majeed, told the IPCC that it is vital over the next few years for the body, and especially Working Group II, to move beyond the physical sciences and to embrace research in other areas of relevance to climate change impacts such as social sciences, human rights and sustainable development.

ENDS