New York: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed of Ligia Noronha of India as Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the New York Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). She will succeed Satya Tripathi of India.
Noronha is an economist with more than 30 years of international experience in the field of sustainable development. She has worked since 2014 as Director of UNEP’s Economy Division based in Nairobi, leading UNEP’s work on climate mitigation and energy transitions; on inclusive green economies, sustainable consumption and production; as well as on trade and sustainable finance, and the nexus of environment, pollution and health.
Before joining UNEP, Noronha worked at The Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi as Executive Director (Research Coordination) and Director of the Division on Resources, Regulation and Global Security. She served as Secretary of the Asian Energy Institute and as Coordinator of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnerships, South Asia, and worked with Canada’s International Development Research Centre on ecosystem approaches to human health. Noronha is a member of various boards, expert panels and advisory committees on ecosystems, natural resources, minerals and metal, including the Government of India’s National Security Advisory Board on matters relating to resources, energy and climate security.
In addition, she has been a member of the Planning Board of the Government of Goa and member of the Goa Jubilee Development Council, a member of Shell International’s External Review Committee on Sustainability Reporting. She also served as a member of the Global Assurance Group of the Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development project, which examined how the mining and minerals sector could contribute to the global transition to sustainable development. From 2009 to 2011, she was a Visiting Senior Fellow at the University of Sydney-based Centre for International Security Studies (CISS).
Noronha holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of Mumbai, as well as a master’s in sea‑use law, economics and policy and a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics.
– global bihari bureau
