Ajay Mathur | |
---|---|
2nd Director General of the International Solar Alliance | |
Assumed office 15 March 2021 | |
Preceded by | Upendra Tripathy |
Ajay Mathur is an Indian energy sector expert who is currently the Director General of the International Solar Alliance. He was formerly the Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute and the Director General of India's Bureau of Energy Efficiency. [1] He has also been a member of the Indian Prime Minister's Council on Climate Change. [2] He was a part of India's negotiating team at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference where the Paris Agreement was signed. [3] He is the author of the book 'Energy Efficiency Matters' along with Leher Thadani. [4]
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong,its first director,after the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in June 1972. Its mandate is to provide leadership,deliver science and develop solutions on a wide range of issues,including climate change,the management of marine and terrestrial ecosystems,and green economic development. The organization also develops international environmental agreements;publishes and promotes environmental science and helps national governments achieve environmental targets.
Rajendra Kumar Pachauri was the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from 2002 to 2015,during the fourth and fifth assessment cycles. Under his leadership the IPCC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 and delivered the Fifth Assessment Report,the scientific foundation of the Paris Agreement. He held the post from 2002 until his resignation in February 2015 after facing multiple allegations of sexual harassment. In March 2022,he was exonerated of the sexual harassment allegations. He was succeeded by Hoesung Lee. Pachauri assumed his responsibilities as the Chief Executive of The Energy and Resources Institute in 1981 and led the institute for more than three decades and demitted office as Executive Vice Chairman of TERI in 2016. Pachauri,universally known as Patchy,was an internationally recognized voice on environmental and policy issues,and his leadership of the IPCC contributed to the issue of human-caused climate change becoming recognized as a matter of vital global concern.
The Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are a grouping of developing countries which are small island countries and small states that tend to share similar sustainable development challenges. These include small but growing populations,limited resources,remoteness,susceptibility to natural disasters,vulnerability to external shocks,excessive dependence on international trade,and fragile environments. Their growth and development are also held back by high communication,energy and transportation costs,irregular international transport volumes,disproportionately expensive public administration and infrastructure due to their small size,and little to no opportunity to create economies of scale. They consist of some of the most vulnerable countries to anthropogenic climate change.
Clean technology,also called cleantech or climatetech,is any process,product,or service that reduces negative environmental impacts through significant energy efficiency improvements,the sustainable use of resources,or environmental protection activities. Clean technology includes a broad range of technology related to recycling,renewable energy,information technology,green transportation,electric motors,green chemistry,lighting,grey water,and more. Environmental finance is a method by which new clean technology projects can obtain financing through the generation of carbon credits. A project that is developed with concern for climate change mitigation is also known as a carbon project.
Alhaji Dr. Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella is a Sierra Leonean agricultural economist,politician who served as a member of parliament and Chair of the Presidential Initiative on Climate Change,Renewable Energy and Food Security under President Julius Maada Bio's government. He is a public speaker,who addresses global issues,including poverty reduction,climate change,the Millennium Development Goals,and green industry and renewable energy. Dr.
Pamposh Bhat is a New Delhi–based environmentalist and award-winning writer. Bhat has been awarded the prestigious Rajbhasha Award for Poetry in 1995 for her work "Kshitij Ki Khoj Mein".
Ajaypal Singh "Ajay" Banga is an Indian-born American business executive. He is currently the president of the World Bank Group. He was the executive chairman of Mastercard,after having previously served as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company from July 2010 until December 31,2020. He retired from this position on December 31,2021,and joined General Atlantic as its vice chairman.
Karen Christiana Figueres Olsen is a Costa Rican diplomat who has led national,international and multilateral policy negotiations. She was appointed Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in July 2010,six months after the failed COP15 in Copenhagen. During the next six years she worked to rebuild the global climate change negotiating process,leading to the 2015 Paris Agreement,widely recognized as a historic achievement.
Alok Kumar Sharma,Baron Sharma,,is a British Conservative Party politician. He served as President for COP26 from 2021 to 2022,having previously served as Secretary of State for Business,Energy and Industrial Strategy from 2020 to 2021 and Secretary of State for International Development from 2019 to 2020. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Reading West from 2010 to 2024 and has been a member of the House of Lords since 2024.
Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri is a former assistant secretary-general at the United Nations and the former deputy executive director of UN Women. Prior to her 15-year stint at the United Nations,she served as an Indian diplomat for 28 years. From 1999 until 2002,she was India's Ambassador to Hungary,while also concurrently accredited to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organization mandated to facilitate cooperation,advance knowledge,and promote the adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy. It is the first international organisation to focus exclusively on renewable energy,addressing needs in both industrialised and developing countries. It was founded in 2009 and its statute entered into force on 8 July 2010. The agency is headquartered in Masdar City,Abu Dhabi. The Director-General of IRENA is Francesco La Camera,a national of Italy. IRENA is an official United Nations observer.
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development. The World Bank is the collective name for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (IDA),two of five international organizations owned by the World Bank Group. It was established along with the International Monetary Fund at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference. After a slow start,its first loan was to France in 1947. In its early years,it primarily focused on rebuilding Europe. Over time,it focused on providing loans to developing world countries. In the 1970s,the World Bank re-conceptualized its mission of facilitating development as being oriented around poverty reduction. For the last 30 years,it has included NGOs and environmental groups in its loan portfolio. Its loan strategy is influenced by environmental and social safeguards.
The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is an alliance of more than 120 signatory countries,most being sunshine countries,which lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The primary objective of the alliance is to work for the efficient consumption of solar energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. This initiative was first proposed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a speech in November 2015 at Wembley Stadium in which he referred to sunshine countries as Suryaputra. The alliance is a treaty-based inter-governmental organization. Countries that do not fall within the Tropics can join the alliance and enjoy all benefits as other members,with the exception of voting rights.
Chandrashekhar Dasgupta was an Indian civil servant,diplomat and writer who served as Indian ambassador to the European Union,Belgium,Luxembourg and China.
Ajay Narayan Jha(born 15 January 1959;IAST:Ajaya Nārāyaṇa Jhā) is a 1982 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Manipur cadre. He was the Finance Secretary of India for three months. He was appointed as the member of Fifteenth Finance Commission of India in place of Shaktikanta Das and served there till 26 November 2023. Thereafter,he was appointed as a member of Sixteenth Finance Commission on 1 January 2024.
Dr. Ajay Kumar is the former Defence Secretary of India. He is a retired Indian Administrative Service officer from the 1985 batch. Dr. Ajay Kumar is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and the University of Minnesota.
Ajay Kumar Bhalla is former Home Secretary of India. He assumed the office on 23 August 2019,succeeding Rajiv Gauba. He is a retired IAS officer of 1984 batch,from Assam Meghalaya cadre. He served as Home Secretary of India for around five years there till 22 August 2024. He hails from Jalandhar,Punjab,India.
National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC) is a Government of India's programme launched in 2008 to mitigate and adapt to the adverse impact of climate change. The action plan is designed and published under the guidance of Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change (PMCCC). The 8 sub-missions aimed at fulfilling India's developmental objectives with focus on reducing emission intensity of its economy. The plan will rely on the support from the developed countries with the prime focus of keeping its carbon emissions below the developed economies at any point of time. The 8 missions under NAPCC are as follows:
Green Grids Initiative —One Sun,One World,One Grid is an initiative by the International Solar Alliance (ISA),India,France and United Kingdom to build a global green energy grid,primarily focusing on solar and wind energy.
The 2023 G20 New Delhi summit was the eighteenth meeting of the G20,a Head of State and Government meeting held at Bharat Mandapam,Delhi. It was the first G20 summit held in India.