UN chief Antonio Guterres has appointed leading Indian economist Ligia Noronha as Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the New York Office of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
Noronha will succeed fellow Indian and development economist Satya Tripathi to whom Secretary-General Guterres is “grateful for his leadership and dedicated service during his tenure,” according to a statement here on Thursday.
Noronha is an economist with over 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, the statement said.
Prior to joining UNEP, Noronha worked at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in New Delhi, as Executive Director (Research Coordination) and as Director of the Division on Resources, Regulation and Global Security, it said.
She served as Secretary of the Asian Energy Institute and as Coordinator of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnerships (REEEP), South Asia and worked with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada on ecosystem approaches to human health.
