Former US vice president Al Gore is the front-runner for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, according to Stein Toennesson, of the International Peace Research Institute.
Sheila Watt-Cloutier, the environmental activist from Canada is also in the running. Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth, which received rave reviews, is the main reason behind his nomination. "It would have to do with climate change and it would be a prize that included both a man and a woman," Toennesson said, adding that another choice in front of the committee could be the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change.
“A prerequisite for winning the Nobel peace prize is making a difference and Al Gore has made a difference,” said Boerge Brende, who nominated Gore and Watt-Cloutier for the award. Brende happens to be the former environmental minister of Norway.
Other names being mentioned include Finnish peace mediator Martti Ahtisaari as well as Lida Yusupova from Russia and Rebiya Kadeer from China, who are also activists.
The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced in Oslo this Friday.
