Rajendra Kumar Pachauri was born on August 20, 1940, and passed away on February 13, 2020. He served as the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from 2002 to 2015, during the fourth and fifth assessment cycles. During his leadership, the IPCC received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 and produced the Fifth Assessment Report, which provided scientific support for the Paris Agreement. He held the position until February 2015, when he resigned after facing multiple allegations of sexual harassment. In March 2022, a court in Saket, India, found him not guilty of these allegations. He was succeeded by Hoesung Lee. Pachauri began his role as chief executive of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in 1981 and led the organization for over 30 years, leaving his position as executive vice chairman in 2016. Known internationally as "Patchy," he was widely respected for his work on environmental and policy issues. His leadership at the IPCC helped raise global awareness about human-caused climate change as a critical issue.

Background

Rajendra Pachauri was born in Nainital, India. He studied at La Martiniere College in Lucknow and at the Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in Jamalpur, Bihar. He was part of the Special Class Railway Apprentices, 1958 Batch, a program that started mechanical engineering education in India. He began his career with the Indian Railways at the Diesel Locomotive Works in Varanasi. He later attended North Carolina State University in Raleigh, United States, where he earned an MS in Industrial Engineering in 1972 and a PhD with two areas of study: Industrial Engineering and Economics in 1974. His PhD research focused on creating a model to predict electrical energy demand in parts of North and South Carolina. He followed a vegetarian diet, mainly due to concerns about environmental and climate change effects.

Career

He worked as an assistant professor from August 1974 to May 1975 and as a visiting teacher during the summers of 1976 and 1977 in the Department of Economics and Business at NC State. He was also a visiting professor of resource economics at the College of Mineral and Energy Resources, West Virginia University. After returning to India, he joined the Administrative Staff College of India in Hyderabad as a Senior Faculty Member from June 1975 to June 1979. Later, he became director of the Consulting and Research Department from July 1979 to March 1981. He joined The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) as director in 1982. He was also a senior visiting fellow at the Resource Systems Institute in 1982 and a visiting research fellow at the World Bank in Washington, DC, in 1990. On April 20, 2002, Pachauri was elected chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations group created by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to study climate change.

Pachauri was a member of the board of governors of the Shriram Scientific and Industrial Research Foundation from September 1987. He served on the executive committee of the India International Centre in New Delhi starting in 1985. He was also part of the governing council of the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi from October 1987 and the Court of Governors of the Administrative Staff College of India from 1979 to 1981. He advised companies such as Pegasus Capital Advisors, the Chicago Climate Exchange, Toyota, Deutsche Bank, and NTPC. He was a member of many organizations, including the International Solar Energy Society (1991–1997), the World Resources Institute Council (1992), the World Energy Council (1993–1995), the International Association for Energy Economics (1988–1990), and the Asian Energy Institute (since 1992). He was a part-time advisor to the United Nations Development Programme from 1994 to 1999 in the areas of energy and natural resource management. In July 2001, R K Pachauri was appointed to the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India.

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

Pachauri spoke often about climate change, stating, "What is happening, and what is likely to happen, convinces me that the world must be really ambitious and very determined to move toward a 350 target." The number 350 refers to the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, measured in parts per million, that some scientists, like NASA’s James Hansen, believe is a safe limit to avoid dangerous climate changes. His work with the IPCC ended suddenly after allegations of sexual harassment were brought up in Indian courts.

The IPCC shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former U.S. vice president Al Gore, who had previously criticized Pachauri when he was first elected in 2002.

On December 11, 2007, Pachauri (representing the IPCC) and co-recipient Al Gore gave speeches at an awards ceremony in Oslo, Norway, on the same day that delegates at a United Nations climate conference were meeting in Bali, Indonesia. Pachauri mentioned the Hindu philosophy of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam," which means "the whole universe is one family," as a guiding principle for protecting the planet. He also quoted the president of the Maldives in 1987 (Maumoon Abdul Gayoom) during his speech.

Pachauri often discussed the effects of climate change on the world’s poorest countries, referencing studies that showed these impacts.

Rajendra K. Pachauri was a member of the Fondation Chirac’s honor committee since its start in 2008 by former French president Jacques Chirac to promote world peace. Dr. Pachauri was also president of the Global Union of Scientists for Peace in India.

Lighting a Billion Lives initiative

In 2008, Pachauri created and started the global "Lighting a Billion Lives" (LaBL) initiative to help people without access to energy get clean energy. The initiative has brought solar energy to remote areas like Sundarbans in West Bengal, the Thar Desert in Rajasthan, and the state of Bihar. The initiative has helped provide thousands of Integrated Domestic Energy Systems (IDES), which combine clean cooking and lighting, to rural and remote areas. It has set important standards and focused on giving poor people in hard-to-reach areas access to different clean energy choices. LaBL has also helped technology companies start businesses in the clean energy field. The initiative operates in more than 13 countries and over 23 states in India.

Controversies

Christopher Booker and Richard North wrote an article for the Daily Telegraph in January 2010, saying there might be conflicts of interest related to Pachauri’s membership on the board of ONGC and research grants for TERI, a non-profit organization where Pachauri was director general. They also claimed there were unusual financial matters at TERI Europe. Pachauri denied all these claims.

In response, the audit firm KPMG reviewed TERI’s financial records at its request. The report said, "No evidence was found that showed Dr. Pachauri received personal financial benefits from his roles that would cause conflicts of interest." The report explained it was based on information provided by TERI, Pachauri, and his tax lawyer. It also noted that the review’s scope was different from a full audit and could not offer the same level of assurance. KPMG found that private companies paid $326,399 to TERI, not to Pachauri. Pachauri received only his annual salary of £45,000 from TERI and up to £2,174 from other sources. He did not receive money for chairing the IPCC.

On August 21, 2010, the Daily Telegraph apologized, stating it did not mean to suggest Dr. Pachauri was corrupt or misused his position. It said KPMG found no evidence he earned "millions of dollars" recently. The newspaper also said it was sorry for any embarrassment caused. The Guardian reported the Telegraph paid over £100,000 in legal costs. Pachauri welcomed the apology, saying he was glad the newspaper acknowledged the truth and believed the false claims were an attempt by climate skeptics to discredit the IPCC.

George Monbiot of The Guardian noted that despite KPMG clearing Pachauri of conflicts of interest and financial wrongdoing, false claims about him were still repeated by Richard North, the Daily Mail, and The Australian.

On February 18, 2015, Delhi police filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Pachauri for allegations of sexual harassment, stalking, and criminal intimidation. On March 21, the Delhi High Court granted him anticipatory bail. In May 2015, an internal complaints committee (ICC) at TERI found Pachauri guilty of sexual harassment, but the findings were challenged in an Industrial Tribunal over concerns about fairness. An article in The Caravan magazine detailed events during Pachauri’s time at TERI.

Pachauri stated the charges were "allegations" made by the complainant and had not been proven after a year-long investigation. He said the relationship described was "cordial and mutual" and denied any physical or sexual harassment. In July 2016, Pachauri was granted regular bail. The court noted the investigation was complete, the charge sheet had been filed, and no arrest had occurred, meaning his custody was not needed for the investigation.

Awards and recognition

• In January 2001, India's government awarded him the Padma Bhushan.
• NDTV named him Global Indian of the Year in 2007.
• Nature magazine named him News Maker of the Year in 2007. The magazine praised Pachauri in an article, saying his strength is building and organizing institutions in areas like engineering and economics related to development.
• On 14 July 2008, Pachauri received the title of UNIDO Goodwill Ambassador.
• In January 2008, he was awarded the second-highest honor for civilians in India, the Padma Vibhushan.
• In November 2009, Pachauri received the "Order of the Rising Sun – Gold and Silver Star" in recognition of his work to improve Japan's policies on climate change. Emperor Akihito gave him the decoration.
• In November 2009, Pachauri was ranked fifth in the list of "Top 100 Global Thinkers" by Foreign Policy magazine for helping end the debate over whether climate change matters.
• In February 2010, the president of Finland gave him the Order of the White Rose of Finland for his work to promote international cooperation on climate change and sustainable development.
• The French government awarded him the title of Officer of the Legion of Honour.
• HEC Paris named Pachauri Professor Honoris Causa in October 2009.
• University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne named Pachauri Professor Honoris Causa in September 2012.

Other interests

In addition to his academic work, Pachauri also wrote poetry and fiction. He wrote a romance novel titled Return to Almora, which was published in 2010. The book tells the story of a retired bureaucrat, who was once an engineering student, sharing memories of his spiritual and personal experiences. He co-authored Moods and Musings, a poetry collection, with his daughter, Rashmi Pachauri-Rajan.