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Rajendra K. Pachauri

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Dr Rajendra K. Pachauri
Born (1940-08-20) 20 August 1940 (age 84)
Nainital, United Provinces, British India (now Uttarakhand, India)
NationalityIndian
Alma materNorth Carolina State University and La Martiniere Lucknow
Occupation(s)Chief, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Director General, TERI, Head Yale Climate and Energy Institute
SpouseSaroj Pachauri
ChildrenRashmi Pachauri-Rajan (daughter)

Rajendra Kumar Pachauri (born 20 August 1940) has been serving as the chairperson of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 2002, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 during his tenure. He has also been the director general of TERI, a research and policy organisation in India, and chancellor of TERI University; besides being the chairman of the governing council of the National Agro Foundation (NAF), as well as the chairman of the board of Columbia University's International Research Institute for Climate and Society. Pachauri has been outspoken about climate change. He has been appointed as Senior Adviser to Yale Climate and Energy Institute (YCEI) from July 2012 prior to which he was the Founding Director of YCEI (July 2009 – June 2012).

Background

Pachauri was born in Nainital, India. He was educated at La Martiniere College in Lucknow and at the Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in Jamalpur, Bihar. He belongs to the Special Class Railway Apprentices, 1958 Batch, an elite scheme which heralded the beginning of mechanical engineering education in India. He began his career with the Indian Railways at the Diesel Locomotive Works in Varanasi. He joined the North Carolina State University in Raleigh, USA, where he obtained an MS in Industrial Engineering in 1972, and a PhD with co-majors in Industrial Engineering and Economics in 1974. His doctoral thesis was titled, A dynamic model for forecasting of electrical energy demand in a specific region located in North and South Carolina. He lives in Golf Links, New Delhi. He is a strict vegetarian, largely because of "the environmental and climate change implications."

Career

He served as Assistant Professor (August 1974 – May 1975) and Visiting Faculty Member (Summer 1976 and 1977) in the Department of Economics and Business at NC State. He was a Visiting Professor of Resource Economics at the College of Mineral and Energy Resources, West Virginia University. On his return to India, he joined the Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad, as Member Senior Faculty (June 1975 – June 1979) and went on to become Director, Consulting and Applied Research Division (July 1979 – March 1981). He joined The Energy and Resources Institute(TERI) as Director in 1982. and presently heads the organisation. He was also a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Resource Systems Institute (1982), and Visiting Research Fellow at the World Bank, Washington DC (1990). On 20 April 2002, Pachauri was elected Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations panel established by the World Meteorological Organization(WMO) and United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) to assess information relevant for understanding climate change.

Pachauri was on the Board of Governors, Shriram Scientific and Industrial Research Foundation (September 1987); the Executive Committee of the India International Centre, New Delhi (1985 onwards); the Governing Council of the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi (October 1987 onwards); and the Court of Governors, Administrative Staff College of India (1979–81) and advises such companies as Pegasus Capital Advisors, the Chicago Climate Exchange, Toyota, Deutsche Bank and NTPC. He has served as member of many societies and commissions. He has been the Member of Board of the International Solar Energy Society (1991–1997), World Resources Institute Council (1992), while Chairman of the World Energy Council (1993–1995), President and then Chairman of the International Association for Energy Economics (1988–1990), and the President of the Asian Energy Institute (Since 1992). He was a part-time advisor to the United Nations Development Programme (1994—1999) in the fields of Energy and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources. In July 2001, Dr R K Pachauri was appointed Member, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India.

Work with the IPCC

On 20 April 2002, Pachauri was elected Chairman of the United Nations established Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Pachauri has been vocal on the issue of climate change and said, "What is happening, and what is likely to happen, convinces me that the world must be really ambitious and very determined at moving toward a 350 target." 350 refers to the level in parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that top climate scientists such as NASA's James Hansen agree to be a safe upper limit to avoid a climate tipping point.

2007 Nobel Peace Prize for IPCC

Pachauri and Al Gore on balcony of Grand Hotel, Oslo.

The IPCC shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former US Vice-President Al Gore, who had earlier criticised Pachauri when he was first elected in 2002. In its press release, the Nobel Prize Committee said:

...the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 is to be shared, in two equal parts, between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Albert Arnold (Al) Gore Jr. for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change."

On 11 December 2007, Pachauri (representing the recipient IPCC) and co-recipient Al Gore delivered their acceptance speeches at an awards ceremony in Oslo, Norway, on a day when delegates to a United Nations climate conference were meeting in Bali, Indonesia. Pachauri referenced the Hindu philosophy of "'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam', which means 'the whole universe is one family,'" must dominate global efforts to protect the global commons." Returning to this theme throughout his speech, he quoted president of the Maldives in 1987 (Maumoon Abdul Gayoom):

"...a mean sea level rise of two meters would suffice to virtually submerge the entire country of 1,190 small islands, most of which barely rise two meters above sea level. That would be the death of a nation."

Pachauri repeatedly emphasised his concerns regarding the implications of climate change for the world's poorest nations, referring to studies that:

"...have raised the threat of dramatic population migration, conflict, and war over water and other resources, as well as a realignment of power among nations. Some also highlight the possibility of rising tensions between rich and poor nations, health problems caused particularly by water shortages and crop failures...

Commitment to other organisations

Rajendra K. Pachauri is a member of the Fondation Chirac's honour committee, ever since the foundation was launched in 2008 by former French president Jacques Chirac to promote world peace.

Lighting a Billion Lives Initiative

Pachauri conceptualised and launched Lighting a Billion Lives Initiative in 2005 to bring electricity to energy starved rural areas of India through solar energy. The initiative has taken solar energy to remote places like Sundarbans, West Bengal and Thar Desert, Rajasthan.

Controversies

Christopher Booker and Richard North wrote an article for the Daily Telegraph in January 2010 alleging potential conflicts of interest related to Pachauri's membership of the board of ONGC and to research grants for TERI, a non-profit institution of which Pachauri is director general. They further alleged that financial anomalies existed at TERI Europe. Pachauri denied all allegations.

In response to the allegations, the audit firm KPMG carried out a review at TERI's request. The review stated: "No evidence was found that indicated personal financial benefits accruing to Dr Pachauri from his various advisory roles that would have led to a conflict of interest". The report explains its objectives and methodology and states that "Work done by us was as considered necessary at that point in time" and that it is based on the information provided by TERI, Pachauri and Pachauri's tax counsel. In a caveat the review explains that its scope was "significantly different from an audit and cannot be relied on to provide the same level of assurance as an audit". KPMG examined payments made by private sector companies and found that payments amounting to $326,399 were made to TERI itself, not to Pachauri. He had received only his annual salary from TERI, amounting to £45,000 a year, plus a maximum of about £2,174 from outside earnings. He received no payment for chairing the IPCC.

On 21 August 2010, the Daily Telegraph issued an apology, saying that it had "not intended to suggest that Dr Pachauri was corrupt or abusing his position as head of the IPCC and we accept KPMG found Dr Pachauri had not made "millions of dollars" in recent years." It stated: "We apologise to Dr Pachauri for any embarrassment caused." The newspaper was reported to have paid legal costs of over £100,000. Pachauri welcomed the Telegraph's apology, saying that he was "glad that they have finally acknowledged the truth", and attributed the false allegations to "another attempt by the climate sceptics to discredit the IPCC. They now want to go after me and hope that it would serve their purpose."

George Monbiot of The Guardian stated his view that despite Pachauri being cleared by KPMG of conflict of interest and financial wrongdoing, false claims had been repeated about him by Richard North, the Daily Mail and The Australian.

Following the retraction of a flawed projection regarding glacier melt in the IPCC AR4 working group II report, there were calls for him to step down as head of the IPCC, which he has rejected.

Awards and recognitions

  • In January 2001, he received India's Padma Bhushan award by the Indian Government.
  • NDTV Global Indian of the Year for the year 2007.
  • Nature News maker of the Year 2007. The magazine lauded Pachauri in an article as an organisation builder "Rajendra Pachauri's great strength is in building and organizing institutions in the fields he understands best – engineering and economics as they apply to issues of development".
  • On 14 July 2008, Pachauri received the title UNIDO Goodwill Ambassador.
  • In January 2008, he was awarded the second-highest civilian award in India, the Padma Vibhushan.
  • In November 2009, Pachauri received the 'Order of the Rising Sun – Gold and Silver Star' in recognition of his contribution to the enhancement of Japan's policy towards climate change. He was bestowed with the decoration by Emperor Akihito.
  • In November 2009, Pachauri was rated fifth in the list of "Top 100 Global thinkers" by Foreign Policy magazine, for "ending the debate over whether climate change matters."
  • In February 2010, Pachauri was conferred with Order of the White Rose of Finland from the President of Finland in recognition of his work in promoting international co-operation on climate change and sustainable development.
  • The French government has awarded him the 'Officer of the Legion of Honour'.
  • HEC Paris appointed Pachauri Professor Honoris Causa in October 2009.
  • University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne appointed Pachauri Professor Honoris Causa in September 2012.
  • In July 2013, he was conferred with the Pico della Mirandola Prize by the Foundation Cassa di Risparmio di Mirandola

Other interests

Other than his academic publications, Pachauri also writes poetry and fiction. He is the author of Return to Almora, a romance novel published in 2010. The novel is in the form of the reminiscences of a retired bureaucrat, once an engineering student, about his spiritual and sexual past. He co-wrote Moods and Musings, a collection of poems, with his daughter Rashmi Pachauri-Rajan.

See also

References

  1. ^ Saha, Romila (14 October 2007). "The Calcutta Telegraph, Oct 14, 2007". Calcutta, India: Telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  2. "Gore accepts Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo". msnbc.msn.com. Associated Press. 10 December 2007. Archived from the original on 31 January 2010. Retrieved 31 January 2010. This year's Nobel Peace Prize laureates, Rajendra Pachauri, right, of the U.N. climate panel, and Al Gore show their certificates on the podium in Oslo on Monday.
  3. Pachauri, Rajendra (10 December 2007). "Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Nobel Peace Prize 2007 Nobel Lecture by R. K. Pachauri". nobelprize.org. The Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 31 January 2010. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
  4. "R. K. Pachauri biography on I love India website". Lifestyle.iloveindia.com. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  5. Manjul, Tarannum (14 October 2007). "At DLW, Pachy still brings a smile on employees' faces". Indian Express. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  6. 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner is ISE's very own Dr. Rajendra Pachauri
  7. Pachauri, Rajendra K. (1974). "A dynamic model for forecasting of electrical energy demand in a specific region located in North and South Carolina". Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  8. ^ "Padam Awards: Civilian Awards announced on January 26, 2001". Ministry of Home Affairs: Government of India. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
  9. "Rajendra Pachauri, IPCC, Part 1 Robert Goodland Memorial Lecture, World Bank". youtube.com. Chomping Climate Change. 18 April 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014. One of the things that people leveled as a charge against me was, 'this Hindu vegetarian.' I mean, they thought my vegetarianism was driven by the fact that I was born a Hindu. But the reality is I give up eating meat about fifteen or sixteen years ago largely because of what I saw as the environmental and climate change implications.
  10. ^ "Dr. R.K. Pachauri". 11 October 2003. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 26 July 2008. To acknowledge his immense contribution to the field of environment, he has been awarded the Padma Bhushan – one of India's highest civilian awards that recognizes distinguished service of a high order to the nation in any field (January 2001).
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  16. Whitesides, Loretta Hidalgo (28 December 2009). "NASA's James Hansen Says Atmospheric CO2 is Already Beyond Safe Limit". Wired. Archived from the original on 31 January 2010.
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  20. ^ Transcript of Nobel Prize speech from Democracy Now! website.
  21. Fondation Chirac's honour committee
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  25. Booker, Christopher, and Richard North, The curious case of the expanding environmental group with falling income", The Daily Telegraph, 17 January 2010.
  26. Pachauri, Rajendra, "Climate change has no time for delay or denial" The Guardian, 4 January 2010.
  27. The Hindu, "TERI denies charges against Pachauri", Chennai: 24 December 2009.
  28. ^ "KPMG review of personal financial records of Dr Rajendra Pachauri". The Guardian. London. 26 August 2010.
  29. George Monbiot; James Randerson (26 August 2010). "Rajendra Pachauri cleared of financial misdealings | Environment". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  30. "FT.com / In depth – Climate chief cleared over payments". Financial Times. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  31. ^ Monbiot, George (26 August 2010). "Rajendra Pachauri innocent of financial misdealings but smears will continue". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
  32. "Daily Telegraph apologises to Pachauri over damning article". Deccan Herald. 20 August 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  33. "Daily Telegraph apologises to Pachauri". Hindustan Times. Press Trust of India. 21 August 2010. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
  34. Monbiot, George (1 September 2010). "Press continue to hound Rajendra Pachauri despite his innocence". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
  35. Chamberlain, Gethin (29 January 2010). "Indian glaciologist criticised by IPCC chief joins calls for resignation". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  36. "Samson in Elsevier". Elsevier.nl. 28 January 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  38. Washington, 9 Feb, (PTI):. "US Senator seeks Pachauri's resignation". Deccanherald.com. Retrieved 3 February 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  39. "Lifestyle Sitemap". Lifestyle.iloveindia.com. 15 November 2007. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  40. "Nature names Pachauri Newsmaker of the Year – Tech News – IBNLive". Ibnlive.in.com. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  41. "Pachauri". unido.org. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  42. "Padma Awards announced". Retrieved 7 January 2010.
  43. "Pachauri, Krishnamurthy conferred with high Japanese honour", newKerala.com, New Dehli, 3 November 2009, retrieved 7 January 2010
  44. "The FP Top 100 Global Thinkers – 5. Rajendra Pachauri". Foreignpolicy.com. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  45. "Dr R K Pachauri conferred with The Order of the White Rose of Finland". Teriin.org. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  46. Iqbal, Mohammed (21 October 2009). "Jaipur Professor gets highest French honour". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
  47. "HEC appoints Rajendra K. Pachauri Professor Honoris Causa". MBA Channel. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  48. http://www.univ-reims.fr/vie-des-campus/actualites,10453,19060.html?&args=Y29tcF9pZD04NiZhY3Rpb249ZGV0YWlsJmlkPTY2OCZ8 accessed 1 October 2012
  49. Pachauri, Rajendra K. (2010). Return To Almora. Rupa & Co. ISBN 978-81-291-1574-4.
  50. Anjali Joseph (23 January 2010). "Return to Almora: A spiritual potboiler – Book Mark – Sunday TOI". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 31 January 2010. Despite its ostensible interest in matters numinous, the novel is actually a potboiler, perhaps of a new subcategory – the spiritual potboiler.
  51. Mendick, Robert; Amrit Dhillon (30 January 2010). "Revealed: the racy novel written by the world's most powerful climate scientist". telegraph.co.uk. London: The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 31 January 2009. The chair of the UN's panel on climate change Dr Rajendra Pachauri has taken a break from writing academic papers on global warming to pen a racey romantic novel.
  52. Pachauri, Rajendra K.; Rashmi Pachauri-Rajan (2003). Moods and musings. Writers Workshop. ISBN 978-81-7189-468-0.

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Political offices
Preceded byRobert Watson Chairman of the IPCC
2002–present 		Succeeded byIncumbent

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