Rajendra Kumar Pachauri (20 August 1940 – 13 February 2020[1]) 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 was educated at La Martiniere College in Lucknow[4] and at the Indian Railways Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in Jamalpur, Bihar.

He belonged to the Special Class Railway Apprentices, 1958 Batch, an elite scheme which heralded the beginning of mechanical engineering education in India.

[6] His doctoral thesis was titled A dynamic model for forecasting of electrical energy demand in a specific region located in North and South Carolina.

"[8] He served as assistant professor (August 1974 – May 1975) and visiting faculty member (summer 1976 and 1977) in the Department of Economics and Business at NC State.

The IPCC shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former US vice-president Al Gore, who had earlier criticised Pachauri when he was first elected in 2002.

[16] On 11 December 2007, Pachauri (representing the recipient IPCC) and co-recipient Al Gore delivered their acceptance speeches at an awards ceremony in Oslo, Norway, on a day when delegates to a United Nations climate conference were meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

"[18] Returning to this theme throughout his speech, he quoted president of the Maldives in 1987 (Maumoon Abdul Gayoom): Pachauri repeatedly emphasised his concerns regarding the implications of climate change for the world's poorest nations, referring to studies that: Rajendra K. Pachauri was a member of the Fondation Chirac's honour committee,[19] since its launch in 2008 by former French president Jacques Chirac to promote world peace.

[21][22] The initiative has taken solar energy to remote places such as Sundarbans, West Bengal, Thar Desert, Rajasthan, and in the state of Bihar.

[29] The review stated: "No evidence was found that indicated personal financial benefits accruing to Dr Pachauri from his various advisory roles that would have led to a conflict of interest".

[32] Pachauri welcomed the Telegraph's apology, saying that he was "glad that they have finally acknowledged the truth", and attributed the false allegations to "another attempt by the climate sceptics to discredit the IPCC.

"[34] George Monbiot of The Guardian stated his view that despite Pachauri being cleared by KPMG of conflict of interest and financial wrongdoing, false claims had been repeated about him by Richard North, the Daily Mail and The Australian.

[35] On 18 February 2015, Delhi police filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Pachauri on allegations of sexual harassment, stalking and criminal intimidation.