The joint recipients of the Volvo Environment Prize are Dr. Syukoro Manabe and Dr. Veerabhadran Ramanathan, whose pioneering work over several decades has helped us to understand one of the critical aspects of human activity - the climate of the past and present to the greenhouse effect - the increased warning of the globe caused by various gases released into the atmosphere by human activities - has been instrumental in finding out how that heating translates into future changes in regional climate.

The Prize Jury's Citation:
The Volvo Environment Prize for 1997 is awarded jointly to Dr. Syukuro Manabe and Dr. Veerabhadran Ramanathan for their pioneering work of outstanding importance to humanity, on how to predict the nature of future changes in the world climate. The findings of Dr. Manabe and Dr. Ramanathan are complementary. When combined, they create a powerful understanding of the factors determining climate change, thus laying strong foundations to formulate action plans for urgent implementation by the joint efforts of the international community including national governments, transnational corporations and the public.