Former American vice-president Al Gore and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) share the honour of winning the Nobel Peace Prize 2007.

One of the members of the climate change panel is research professor Jørgen E. Olesen from the Department of Agroecology and Environment at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Aarhus.

Jørgen E. Olesen is one of the world’s leading experts on agriculture and climate. His responsibility on the panel is to contribute knowledge of how climate changes affect global food production.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change consists of 2000 experts and scientists from more than 130 countries.

The fact that the IPCC received the prize does not surprise Jørgen E. Olesen.

We know that climate changes will lead to more droughts in many parts of the world. Water will become a limited resource and if you cannot irrigate, then food production will decrease drastically. That will lead to a risk of conflict over access to water between countries and regions, says Jørgen E. Olesen.

Besides elucidating how climate changes affect growing conditions, the scientists are also developing methods to grow crops using less water. For example, scientists at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences have developed a method whereby potatoes can be grown in arid regions with up to 20 percent less irrigation water.

The Nobel Peace Prize 2007 will be awarded at a ceremony in Oslo on 10 December 2007.