Nobel winner puts Bollywood spotlight on climate change

Nobel winner puts Bollywood spotlight on climate change

BANGKOK(AFP) - The head of the UN's Nobel prizewinning climate panel grabbed Bollywood's spotlight Friday to call for greater efforts to stop climate change, during a star-studded awards weekend for Indian film. Rajendra Pachauri accepted a special global leadership award from the International Indian Film Academy, which will hand out its film honours in Bangkok on Sunday.

He praised the body and the event's host, Indian megastar Amitabh Bachchan, for advocating action against climate change during the weekend gala.

"Change in the climate system of the world is unequivocal. There really is no place for doubt," he said after accepting the award.

"We very rapidly have to bring about the stabilisation of Earth's climate," Pachauri said, as he delivered a presentation highlighting the science behind his panel's grim forecast for the world.

Since the Nobel prize was awarded in October to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the former US vice president Al Gore, Pachauri has criss-crossed the globe sounding the alarm on the dangers of global warming.

Bachchan said the awards ceremony had tied up with the UN Environment Programme to raise awareness of climate change.

The red carpet has even been turned green to remind the event's 600 million television viewers about global warming.

"If we don't act now, climate change will permanently alter the land and waters we all depend on for survival," Bachchan said.

"We cannot solely leave it to government and policy-makers. The greatest weapon, indeed, is ourselves. Together we can all cool the world."