Prof. Munasinghe is Founder Chairman of the Munasinghe Inst. of Development (MIND) and MIND Group, Colombo. He has earned post-graduate degrees in engineering, physics and development economics from Cambridge University (UK), MIT (USA), and McGill and Concordia Universities (Canada). He has received several honorary doctorates. He is 2021 Blue Planet... Read more
Prof. Munasinghe is Founder Chairman of the Munasinghe Inst. of Development (MIND) and MIND Group, Colombo. He has earned post-graduate degrees in engineering, physics and development economics from Cambridge University (UK), MIT (USA), and McGill and Concordia Universities (Canada). He has received several honorary doctorates.
He is 2021 Blue Planet Prize Laureate (equivalent to Environmental Nobel Prize); Vice Chair, UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC-AR4), who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize; Officer of National Order of Legion of Honour – highest French decoration bestowed by French President; recipient of Deshamanya award – highest Sri Lankan decoration bestowed by Sri Lanka President; and other world awards. He is also Chairman, Presidential Expert Commission on Sustainable Sri Lanka 2030 Vision; and Honorary Senior Advisor to Sri Lanka Government.
Formerly, he served as Senior Energy Advisor to Sri Lanka President; and Senior Advisor/Manager, World Bank. He was also Director-General, Sustainable Consumption Institute, Manchester University, UK; Chancellor, International Water Academy, Oslo; and expert advisor/consultant to many world bodies.
After working five decades internationally, he is a world renowned expert on sustainable development, climate change, energy and environment — known for ideas like Sustainomics framework, balanced inclusive green growth (BIGG), and Millennium Consumption Goals which was incorporated into UN sustainable development goal 12. He has worldwide field experience in climate change, disaster management, economics, environment, energy, telecommunications, transport, urban infrastructure, and water projects. He has made hundreds of speeches on these topics at gatherings ranging from high level international conferences to community meetings.He has authored over 120 books and 350 technical papers. He is Fellow of several international Academies of Science, and editorial board member of 20 journals.
He is a keen sportsman and honorary Vice Patron, Sri Lanka Tennis Association. He has represented Sri Lanka (Juniors) and Cambridge University in tennis and won several Sri Lanka National and other titles. His interests include swimming, wind surfing, chess, bridge, amateur astronomy, saxophone, singing, judo, tai-chi, and meditation.