The call was significant. In the early years of this decade, battlelines sharply drawn between climate skeptics and the believers, Pachauri was once described by Gore as the “let’s-drag-our-feet” candidate for the position of the next chair of the panel.

Pachauri, who had the backing of George Bush, struck back a few days later in a letter criticising Gore’s “derogatory comments”. The IPCC was then accused of issuing “virulent anti-American statements”.

Today, Pachauri said “it’s a privilege to share the award with Gore”.

Things have moved not just between Gore and Pachauri but also the manner in which climate change is perceived and understood by the world. From being a fuzzy concept in the ’80s and ’90s, it is now almost a definitive science that illustrates climate change is a result of human action.

The IPCC — comprising of about 3,000 atmospheric scientists, oceanographers, ice specialists, economists and other experts — has worked to attain that consensus across the world. The small panel of IPCC members do not carry out any research themselves. Drawn from academics and think tanks all over the world, the members set up specialised working groups that put together and assess peer reviewed and published scientific or technical literature on climate change.

“While receiving this news about the award, I would like to pay tribute to the scientific community, who are the winners of this award. The experts and scientists are the backbone of the IPCC and they provide the knowledge, which has contributed to the success of the IPCC,” said Pachauri.

“Whereas in the 1980s, global warming seemed to be merely an interesting hypothesis, the 1990s produced firmer evidence in its support. In the last few years, the connections have become even clearer and the consequences still more apparent,” said the Nobel committee in its citation today.

There are at least a dozen Indian scientists and economists who worked to provide that much-needed focus on South Asia. Pachauri himself has been pointing out that the world’s poorest countries are the most vulnerable.

This year, the IPCC has come out with a series of three reports, drawing the world in with each successive report. The second report caught the attention of policy makers in India. It said that there would be increase in rainfall by 15-40 per cent by the end of the 21st century, with high regional variability. The mean temperature would increase by three to six degrees by the end of the 21st century.

Despite several startling findings, these reports are not a doomsday scenario. The underlying message is that things can be overturned, if the world acts now. Mitigation options are “really very low in cost and high in feasibility.” said Pachauri.

“It is hoped that the global community would see the urgency of taking action, and to that extent the Nobel Prize obviously sends a very powerful message to the global community, which, it is hoped, will stimulate action in the right direction,” he added.