New York: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has announced the appointment 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, who was thanked by secretary-general for his leadership and dedicated service during his tenure.

Noronha is an economist with over 30 years of international experience in the field of sustainable development. She has worked since 2014 as firector 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.

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.

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.

Noronha has served on various boards, expert panels and advisory committees on ecosystems, natural resources and minerals and metals, and served Inter alia on the National Security Advisory Board of the Government of India on matters relating to resources, energy and climate security.

She holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Mumbai, as well as a Master’s degree in Sea Use Law, Economics and Policy and a doctorate from the London School of Economics.

According to her profile on the UNEP website, 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 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, it said.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system, and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment.

A week ago the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), which focuses on providing microfinance access to least developed countries (LDCs), said Preeti Sinha has commenced her tenure as Executive Secretary of the UN agency.

In January last year, Guterres appointed Gita Sabharwal of India as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Thailand. Sabharwal, with 25 years of experience in development, peacebuilding, governance and social policy across five Asian countries, previously served the United Nations in Sri Lanka as the Peacebuilding and Development Advisor for nearly seven years.

Former Director-General of the Indian Council of Medical Research Soumya Swaminathan is the Chief Scientist at the World Health Organisation.