Mohan Munasinghe

Mohan Munasinghe is a Sri Lankan physicist, academic and economist with a focus on energy, water resources, sustainable development and climate change. He was a Vice-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice-President of the United States Al Gore.^[1] Munasinghe is the Chairman of the Munasinghe Institute for Development.^[2] Currently he is a Professor of Sustainable Development at the Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of Manchester, and Institute Professor at the Vale Sustainable Development Institute, Federal University of Para, Brazil. He also serves on the board of directors of Green Cross International and is a member of the Club of Rome.

Education

Born in Sri Lanka, Prof. Munasinghe was educated at Royal College, Colombo. He received a BA (Hons.) in Engineering in 1967 and a MA later from the University of Cambridge. Thereafter he gained a SM and PE in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1970; a PhD in Solid State Physics from McGill University in 1973 and a MA in Development Economics from Concordia University in 1975. He has received several honorary doctorates, honoris causa.

Career

From 1982 to 1987, he was the Senior Advisor (Energy and Information Technology) to the President of Sri Lanka, helping to formulate and implement the national energy strategy and computer policy. He was founder chairman, Computer and Information Technology Council (CINTEC), and served on the Presidential Commission that determined national telecommunications policy. During this period, he also served as board member, Natural Resources, Energy and Science Authority of Sri Lanka; Governor, Arthur Clarke Centre for Modern Technology, Sri Lanka; and founder-President of the Sri Lanka Energy Managers Association.^[3] He was involved with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change since its inception in 1988 and had served as Chancellor of the International Water Academy in Oslo. From 1990 to 1992 Munasinghe was Advisor to the US President's Council on Environmental Quality (PCEQ). Until 2002 he was a Senior Manager/Advisor at the World Bank.

As an academic, he serves as distinguished guest professor at the University of Peking, and visiting professor at the United Nations University in Tokyo. He has authored or co-authored over 90 books and several hundred journal articles.^[4] He is widely recognised for having first proposed the sustainomics framework^[5] for making development more sustainable at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, and more recently for proposing the millennium consumption goals^[6] at the United Nations.

Awards and honours

Listed are some key awards and honours Prof. Munasinghe has received;

• Eminence in Engineering Award 2014 - highest prize bestowed by the Institute of Engineers, apex Engineering body in Sri Lanka, for exceptional contributions to the profession of engineering and to sustainable development in Sri Lanka and worldwide.
• Anita Garibaldi Gold Medal for meritorious services to humanity (Brazilian government,2007)^[7]
• Sarvodaya Award for Humanity, Peace and Development (2007)
• Zayed International Prize for Environment (jointly with other authors) for contributions to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2006)
• Order of Fellowship (honoris causa) of the Independent University of Bangladesh for exceptional contributions to energy, economics and environment (Bangladesh,2005)
• Outstanding lifetime achievements award from 16 major professional bodies (Sri Lanka, 2003)
• Adelman-Frankel prize for unique and innovative contributions to energy research from the USAEE (US,2003)
• Green award for exceptional contributions to sustainable development from the Int. Federation of Environmental Journalists (1998)
• International best treatise award and medal for sustainable water resource management presented at the 1994 World Water Congress (Abu Dhabi,1994).
• Award for outstanding contributions to energy economics from the Int. Assoc. of Energy Economists (US,1986)
• Sinha Gold Medal for outstanding scientific achievement from the Lions Clubs International (Sri Lanka, 1985)
• Albert M. Grass Prize (MIT, US, 1968)
• J. W. Beauchamp Prize(IET, UK, 1966)^[8]

Bibliography

Prof. Munasinghe has authored over 90 academic books. Publications include:

• Munasinghe, Mohan (2010). Making development more sustainable: sustainomics framework and practical applications (second edition). MIND Press. ISBN 978-955-1672-00-3. 
• Munasinghe, Mohan (2009). Sustainable development in practice: sustainomics methodology and applications. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-89540-8. 
• Munasinghe, Mohan (2006). Macroeconomic policies for sustainable growth: analytical framework and policy studies of Brazil and Chile. Edward Elgar. ISBN 1-84542-494-8. 
• Rosa, Luiz Pinguelli; Mohan Munasinghe (2002). Ethics, equity, and international negotiations on climate change. Edward Elgar. ISBN 1-84376-048-7. 
• Munasinghe, Mohan; Osvaldo Sunkel; Carlos de Miguel (2001). The sustainability of long-term growth: socioeconomic and ecological perspectives. Edward Elgar. ISBN 1-84064-515-6. 
• Jepma, C. J.; Mohan Munasinghe, Netherlands, Stockholm Environment Institute, Beijer International Institute of Ecological Economics (1998). Climate change policy: facts, issues and analyses. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-59688-2.  CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)

References

External links

• MIND – Munasinghe Institute for Development – private, nonprofit organisation, established to play a key role in nurturing communities of scholars and practitioners who will address sustainable development issues worldwide and explore viable means of achieving this goal in Sri Lanka and elsewhere without compromising economic, environmental and socio-cultural integrity.
• IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• Personal website