Pachauri to Head New Yale Climate and Energy Institute

Dr. Rajendra Pachauri has chaired the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change since 2002 and has been director general of The Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi since 2001. He will retain these positions while taking up his new half-time position at Yale.

Levin made the announcement at the International Scientific Congress on Climate Change in Copenhagen, where he is speaking along with Pachauri.

"We are fortunate to attract one of the world's foremost climate change experts to lead this ambitious new institute," Levin said. "No one has a more comprehensive grasp of the science and policy of climate change or has done more to bring attention to this urgent issue."

"Climate change has now become an important part of government policy worldwide and the Yale Climate and Energy Institute has enormous potential to fill the need for objective analysis of mitigation options," Pachauri said.

"As an institution with a global focus and international reach, Yale can also pursue research on impacts of climate change in different parts of the world and develop suitable adaptation measures, particularly in the most vulnerable regions," he said.

Dr. Rajendra Pachauri addresses the opening session of the International Scientific Congress on Climate Change. March 10, 2009. (Photo courtesy U. Copenhagen)

Pachauri accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 on behalf of the IPCC, which shared the honor with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.

Under his leadership, The Energy and Resources Institute has become India's most prominent center for research and education in the field of sustainable development.

In 2008, the government of India awarded Pachauri the Padma Vibhushan, among the nation's highest civilian honors.

He has authored 23 books and more than 100 academic articles, and has held numerous positions at academic and research institutes. In addition to having taught a semester at Yale's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in 2000, he received an honorary degree from Yale in 2008.

"Institutions like Yale Climate and Energy Institute are needed to find new directions and solutions that will address human-induced climate change and move us toward sustainable development," said Pachauri.

The new institute will provide seed grants, support postgraduate study, sponsor conferences and workshops, and foster interdisciplinary research spanning from basic atmospheric science to public policy. Nearly 100 Yale scientists, engineers, physicians, social scientists and policy experts have joined together to launch the enterprise.

Initial projects will range from forecasting climate variability and its impacts on water supplies, to studying the spread of infectious diseases, to searching for microbial-based alternative fuels, to the science and economics of carbon sequestration.

In the long term, YCEI will support research and outreach, international collaboration, partnerships with business and industry, and green design efforts that can be implemented and tested within Yale and the surrounding region.

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