IDEAcarbon proudly announced the addition of Mr. Nitin Desai to its Board of Directors as an advisor in 2008. Mr. Desai is renowned for his distinguished career spanning the Government of India, the United Nations, private industry, and academia. He brings a wealth of experience and global insight to IDEAcarbon’s esteemed team.
Mr. Desai, who was the former Under Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs at the United Nations in New York, expressed his enthusiasm for joining IDEAcarbon’s Advisory Board. Desai said, “I have joined the IDEAcarbon Advisory Board because I believe that a global carbon market is the key that will open many opportunities for preventing catastrophic climate change. I am particularly interested in the work on rating of potential carbon credits as that will help in price discovery and deepen the market.” He emphasised the critical role of a global carbon market in addressing the challenges of catastrophic climate change and voiced a particular interest in the rating of potential carbon credits. He believes this process is pivotal for price discovery and deepening the carbon market.
Mr. Desai’s career in the Government of India included senior positions in the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Finance, where he served as the Chief Economic Adviser and Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs. His contributions extended to chairing committees on Venture Capital and Technology Innovation, among other responsibilities.
On the international stage, Mr. Desai played a prominent role in promoting sustainable development as the goal of policy. He served as a Senior Advisor and key draftsman for the groundbreaking “Our Common Future” report by the Brundtland Commission and held pivotal positions in the Rio Earth Summit, the Commission on Sustainable Development, and the Johannesburg Summit. He was also responsible for the organisation of the Copenhagen Summit on Social Development, the Monterrey Summit on Finance for Development and many other global events.
Mr. Nitin Desai’s illustrious career encompassed various roles of global significance. In addition to his position as a Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General for Internet governance and his leadership as the Chairman of the Advisory Group for the annual UN Internet Governance Forum, he was actively involved with academic institutions and non-governmental organisations. Mr. Desai also shared his expertise through monthly columns in the Business Standard. Furthermore, his influential contributions extend to chairing a committee on venture capital and technology innovation, a task entrusted to him by the Indian Planning Commission. He played a pivotal role as the Indian co-chair alongside Lord Chris Patten in the Indo-UK Roundtable, a collaborative initiative between the two governments. In the realm of climate change, Mr. Desai served as a member of the council on climate change, an entity presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. His multifaceted roles in global affairs underscore the depth and breadth of his contributions to various domains of international significance.
Mr. Desai joined a distinguished panel of experts within IDEAcarbon, adding to the organisation’s prestige. This esteemed group includes Christiana Figueres, Sam Fankhauser, Amul Gogna, Dora Vardis, Jaquelin Ligot, and David Hanrahan. IDEAcarbon, known for its recent launch of The Carbon Rating Agency, the world’s first independent rating agency for carbon assets, continues to make strides in enhancing the carbon market’s transparency and credibility. A unique feature of the Agency is its collective judgement of a ratings committee, further reinforcing IDEAcarbon’s commitment to maintaining the highest standards in carbon finance.
Ian Johnson, Chairman of IDEAcarbon, welcomed Mr. Desai and acknowledged the immense value his global expertise would bring to the development of ratings and analytic services at IDEAcarbon.
This information is repurposed from the original print in MondoVisione (2008) and Silicon India (2008).