On Sunday, May 23, 2010, The U Thant Institute will host its sixth annual Ambassadors' Luncheon at the Shore and Country Club in Norwalk, Connecticut. The keynote speaker, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, will give his thoughts on The Economics of Climate Change in Southeast Asia. Registration is at 12 noon, and the luncheon will start promptly at 1pm.

Each year the U Thant Institute holds a luncheon the theme of which is one of the issues of particular concern to the United Nations.  This year luncheon will have as its theme, The Economics of Climate Change in Southeast Asia and will honour Ambassadors from the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA).
Our special guest and keynote speaker is Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore in 2007. Dr. Pachauri  is also the  Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and  is the  Director at  Yale Climate and Energy Institute and Professor in the Practice of Sustainable Development. Dr. Pachauri will be  the honoree of this year U Thant Peace Award.

Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Dr Rajendra K Pachauri was born in Nainital, India, on 20 August 1940. He assumed his current responsibilities as the head of TERI (Tata Energy Research Institute) in 1981, first as Director and, since April 2001, as Director-General. TERI does original work and provides professional support in the areas of energy, environment, forestry, biotechnology, and the conservation of natural resources to government departments, institutions, and corporate organizations worldwide. Dr Pachauri has been elected as Chairman of IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), established by World Meteorological Organization and United Nations Environment Programme in 1988.  He has taken charge as Chairman, IPCC from 20th April 2002 onwards. He has been active in several international forums dealing with the subject of climate change and its policy dimensions.

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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He taught at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Yale University, USA, as McCluskey Fellow during 6 September -- 8 December 2000.
In July 2001, Dr R K Pachauri was appointed Member, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India.
He has also authored 21 books and several papers and articles.