PurnamitaDasgupta is Ford Foundation Chair & Acting Head, Environmental Economics Unit, at Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi. She has held positions as a Professor at the University of Cambridge, UK and The Carey Business School, Johns Hopkins University, USA. She is a co-ordinating lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC), a member of its Summary for Policy Makers and Synthesis Report writing teams, and a member of the IPCC’s Scientific Steering Group on Economics Costing and Ethics. She has contributed to modelling socio-economic scenarios for India’s National Communications to the UNFCCC and her ongoing work includes GHG emissions profile study for the Indian Economy. She has served on several government and non-government committees in various capacities including as member of the Expert Committee to evolve Environmental Standards for India (2013-2014), Advisory and Drafting committee on Electronic waste legislation (India) and Supreme Court committee on estimating Net Present Value of Forestlands in India.She has been principal investigator on several externally funded projects from agencies such as the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (India), The Finance Commission (India), IDRC, SANDEE, DFID, WORLD BANK, UNDP apart from participating in teaching and training programs in different institutions in India and guiding doctoral students. She has several publications in national and international journals and participates actively in forums and discussions on environmental issues.
Minal Pathak is based in Ahmedabad and closely supports the work of the Professor Shukla, one of the two Working Group III Co-Chairs. Minal’s areas of expertise include sustainability and co-benefits analysis, climate compatible urban development, sectoral mitigation policies (Transport & Buildings) and deep decarbonisation scenarios assessment. In addition to supporting the development of Special Reports, she is a member of the Organizing Committee of the IPCC Cities Conference. Minal formally joined the TSU in June 2017, but has been providing ad-hoc scientific support for TSU activities since late 2016. Prior to joining the TSU, Minal was a Visiting Scholar at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, MIT and Associate Professor at CEPT University, India. She holds a PhD in Environmental Science.
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Youba Sokona was elected Vice-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in October 2015. Prior to this, Youba Sokona was Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group III on the mitigation of climate change for the Fifth Assessment Report after serving as a Lead Author since 1990. Youba Sokona is currently the Special Advisor for Sustainable Development at the South Centre. With over 35 years of experience addressing energy, environment and sustainable development in Africa, Youba Sokona is a well-known, leading global figure. In addition to these achievements, Youba Sokona has a proven track record of organisational leadership and management, for example as Coordinator of the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) and as Executive Secretary of the Sahara and the Sahel Observatory (OSS). Youba Sokona’s advice is highly sought after, and as such, he is affiliated with numerous boards and organisations, including as a Member of the Board for the Institute of Development Studies, Honorary Professor at the University College London (UCL), and as a Special Advisor to the African Energy Leaders Group. In short, Youba Sokona is a global figure, with deep technical knowledge, extensive policy experience and an unreserved personal commitment to African led development.
Philippus (Flip) Wester joined ICIMOD in March 2013 as Chief Scientist, Water Resources Management, and was appointed Regional Programme Manager of ICIMOD’s Mountain Knowledge and Action Networks (MKAN) in 2018. He is the Coordinator of the Hindu Kush Himalayan Monitoring and Assessment Programme (HIMAP), which has produced the first Comprehensive Assessment of the Hindu Kush Himalaya: Action to Sustain a Global Asset (www.hi-map.org). He is the Principal Investigator and Project Leader of Himalayan Adaptation, Water and Resilience (HI-AWARE) Research on Glacier and Snowpack Dependent River Basins for Improving Livelihoods (www.hi-aware.org). Wester has actively contributed to developing and expanding the Himalayan University Consortium (HUC) and to improving the quality of scientific research at ICIMOD. He was Chair of the centre’s Publication and Outreach Committee (POUT) from 2014 to 2018. His work focuses on climate change adaptation, and land and water resources management from an integrated and transdisciplinary perspective, with attention to the politics and governance of water resources, river basin management, water reform and allocation processes, and irrigation water management. Trained as an interdisciplinary water management researcher with a PhD in water resources management from Wageningen University, he has 25 years of professional experience, in which he has developed a thorough understanding of the interrelationships between the social, technical, political, and physical dimensions of climate change adaptation and water resources management.
Panmao Zhai is Co-Chair of the Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for the Sixth Assessment Report cycle. He is a well-known Chinese climatologist. He is a research professor and PhD advisor in the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, the largest multi-disciplinary and comprehensive research institution on atmospheric sciences in China. He has more than 30-years working experience in climate change and variability studies. He has published more than 100 papers in Chinese and English. He has developed the Global Climate Monitoring and Diagnostic System and established the ENSO Monitoring and Prediction System in China. Such contributions have effectively supported China National Climate Centre's operational activities and services. Currently, as a Chief Scientist, he is leading a group of excellent meteorologists, studying the formation mechanism and prediction method for persistent extreme events in China.