Dr. Ajay Mathur
Professor Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi
Bio
Dr. Ajay Mathur is a Professor of Practice in the School of Public Policy at IIT, Delhi. He is also a Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics and a Distinguished Fellow at NRDC-India.
He was previously the Director General of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) (2021-2025), The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) (2016-2021), and the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) (2006-2012 and 2013-2016). He served as the interim Director of the Green Climate Fund during its foundational period (2012-2013). He was, till he was elected as DG of ISA, a member of the Prime Minister of India’s Council on Climate Change, and co-chair of the global Energy Transitions Commission. He was a leading Indian and G-77 climate change negotiator (2006-2012) and was the Indian spokesperson at the Paris climate negotiations (2015).
Dr Mathur was a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He was appointed a Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Merite by the President of France.
Dr Mathur’s is a strong proponent of policy interventions based on convergence of private and public interests, and considers political and stakeholder consensus as keys to policy acceptance, and flexibility, institutional anchoring, and budgets as keys to policy sustainability.
He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, and of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. He is Chair of the Jury for the JSW-ToI Earthcare Awards, a member of the Board of Tata Power Renewables and of E-Cube India, and a member of the Advisory Boards of Lightrock Energy Acceleration Fund, PowerRoll, and Cenergist. He also chairs the Indian Task Force to Prepare a Roadmap for Energy Sector Education and the Niti Aayog Committee to Reduce Land-Intensity of Solar Power through Innovation & Technologies.
Dr Mathur received his Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the (then) University of Roorkee and Masters and PhD degrees from the University of Illinois. He has also received the Distinguished Alumnus Awards from both his alma maters.