TERI Tops ICCG Climate Think Tank List

Report by Santanu Ganguly, New Delhi: ICCG (International Centre for Climate Governance) has published the results of the first ranking of the most influential institutions working in the field of climate change, economics and policy. The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has been ranked first in the ICCG Climate Think Tank Ranking under the category “Absolute Global Rankings”.

Absolute Rankings were built where all the activity outputs produced by the think tank in 2012 were considered in absolute terms .The two categories were: European and Global.

While a single event such as what was experienced in Uttarakhand recently cannot be directly attributed to climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has clearly projected an increase in the frequency and intensity of heat waves as well as extreme precipitation events. For a country like India, scientific research on all aspects of climate change has now acquired increasing priority.

Dr. R.K. Pachauri, Director General, TERI said “Manifestations of climate change are becoming apparent on the basis of observations and assessments carried out by the scientific community. Countries and communities across the world would not only have to adapt to the impacts of climate change but also take in hand measures to mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), so that globally we are able to limit temperature increase and associated impacts of climate change. Actions in both these categories will have to be guided by extensive research, climate modeling capabilities and assessments of economically viable and technologically feasible solutions. It is in this context that the ranking of think tanks working in the field of climate change is an important piece of information for the global community. It is particularly relevant and a matter of a great pride for India to see that TERI has been ranked right at the top in the ICCG Climate Think Tank Ranking”.

Global Rankings included the think tanks working in the field of climate change, economics and policy with headquarters outside the European Union. They were assessed on the basis of 5 indicators namely: Events; authors in IPCC Reports; UNFCCC submissions; articles in peer-reviewed journals, and non-peer reviewed publications under two main pillars, “Activities” and “Publications”.

European Rankings included the think tanks working in the field of climate change economics and policy based in the European Union. They were assessed on the basis of 7 indicators namely: Events; authors in IPCC Reports; UNFCCC submissions; EU projects; EU consultations; articles in peer-reviewed journals and non-peer reviewed publications under two main pillars, “Activities” and “Publications”.

Besides TERI, the other think- tanks that featured in the absolute ranking list were: Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs; Woods Hole Research Centre; Resources for the Future; Princeton Environmental Institute, etc.

The first edition of the ICCG Climate Think Tank Ranking assessed a selection of the main think tanks included in the Think Tank Map observatory as of December, 2012.

The conditions for assessment were:

1) Only think tanks working at the international level were assessed:

The comparative assessment of climate think tanks around the globe was done by narrowing down the selection of think tanks that use a common set of channels to disseminate the results of their research, and connect with policy makers.

2) The ranking was based upon coherent and checkable data: The think tanks were asked to provide information for the ranking through a survey, while on the other hand when the survey had not been filled in, the relevant information were found by the Think Tank Map team through a web search.

The report also revealed that the Standardized Rankings were divided into two categories - European and Global, and all the activity outputs of a think tank in 2012 were standardized by the number of its researchers.

The other think tanks that participated from India were: Council on Energy, Environment and Water; Ashoka Trust for Research and Ecology; Gujarat Ecology Society; Centre for Policy and Research, etc.

TERI is an independent, not-for-profit research institute focused on energy, environment, and sustainable development and is devoted to the efficient and sustainable use of natural resources.

Since its inception in 1974, TERI has emerged as an institution of excellence for its path-breaking research, and is a global brand widely respected by the political leaders, policy makers, corporate entities as well as the civil society at large.