As a clean energy carrier that can be produced from any primary energy source, hydrogen used in highly efficient fuel cells could prove to be the answer to our growing concerns about energy security, urban pollution and climate change. This prize surely warrants the attention and resources currently being directed at hydrogen even if the prospects for widespread commercialisation of hydrogen in the foreseeable future are uncertain.

The GEO Year Book 2006 is the third annual survey of the changing global environment produced by the United Nations Environment Programme, in collaboration with many world experts in environmental research and action. The Year Book includes global and regional overviews. It highlights the linkages between environmental well-being, vulnerability and poverty||records recent findings on the value of ecosystem services||and describes new research findings on polar and ocean changes that may prove a turning point in the urgency of our awareness and response to global change.