CAN South Asia is organising a conference call for journalists with the participation of three panellists, Professor Mohan Munasinghe, Chairman of MIND, Ms Suruchi Bwaswal, Associate Director, Earth Sciences and Climate Change Division of TERI and Mr. Sanjay Vashis, Director of CANSA.
The call will start at 3.30pm IST on the 27th of September 2013, and journalists who are interested in being part of it was invited to mail Vositha, on vositha@cansouthasia.net to confirm their participation.
Panellists
Professor Mohan Munasinghe
Chairman, Munasighne Institute for Development – MIND
Mohan Munasinghe is an internationally-recognised expert on energy, sustainable development and climate change. A Sri Lankan-born intellectual, he is the Chairman of the Munasinghe Institute for Development, Sri Lanka. As the Vice Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), he had the distinction of receiving the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, thus being the first Sri Lankan to do so. Professor Mohan Munasinghe shared the Nobel Peace Prize of 2007 with IPCC colleagues and former Vice President of the United States Al Gore, for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change. He is also Visiting Professor, Vale Institute of Sustainable Development, Federal University, Brazil, and Distinguished Guest Professor at Peking University, China. He has post-graduate degrees in engineering, physics and development economics, from Cambridge (UK), MIT (USA), and McGill and Concordia Universities (Canada), and several honorary doctorates. He has served as Senior Energy and Information Technology Advisor to the President of Sri Lanka, Advisor to the United States President’s Council on Environmental Quality, and Senior Advisor/Manager, World Bank. He has authored 96 books and about four hundred technical papers.
Associate Director, Earth Sciences and Climate Change Division – TERI
Ms Bhadwal leads research activities in the area of climate change, focusing mainly on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation assessments and works in close association with communities. She has been with TERI since October 2000 and has contributed to several projects. Some of the key projects she has worked on include a study on vulnerability to climate change in the Indian agricultural sector in the context of economic globalization, (supported by CIDA and the Government of Norway), contributions to India’s first and second national communications submitted to the UNFCCC and World Bank supported study on vulnerability to climate variability and change through an assessment of issues and options for adaptation. Ms Bhadwal is also listed as a UNDP regional roster of expert on vulnerability and adaptation. Furthermore, she has been identified as a Member by the Planning Commission as part of a Working Group on Climate Change and Environment for the XIIth V Year Plan (2012-2017). She has also been closely associated with the International Human Dimensions Programme attending numerous open meetings and Institutes organised by them. She has published several papers on related issues and has contributed as a Lead Author for the IPCC AR4 WGII Report. She is also a Review Editor for the IPCC AR5 WG II Report and the IPCC Special Report on Extreme Events. Ms Bhadwal has a Masters in Environmental Sciences from Hissar in Haryana.
Sanjay Vashist
Director – Climate Action Network South Asia
Sanjay Vashist is the Regional Director of Climate Action Network South Asia and has been actively working towards a mobilised civil society action on Climate policies in South Asian region. Under his leadership, CAN South Asia have increased its membership base from 20 to over 100 NGOs and the Network has successfully consolidated climate actions of NGOs in the region building bridges with governments as partners. Mr. Vashist has worked as International Coordinator for Climate Action Network International (CANI) in Bonn, Germany coordinating the activities of ENGOs network also acting as focal point for ENGOs constituency of observers under UNFCCC. Prior to pursuing career in climate change science and action, he worked as a natural resource scientist among rural communities of Central India implementing community based projects objectives towards strengthening sustainable livelihoods. He completed his Masters Degree in Agro Forestry from Gujarat Agriculture University and has 14 years of experience in natural resource management, implementation of adaptation in key sectors and UNFCCC negotiations.
