Senior Advisor- Climate Change
Dr. Sumana Bhattacharya
Dr. Sumana Bhattacharya is working in the area of climate change and environment policy and research for more than two decades now. She is a doctorate in Physics from Department of Physics, University of Delhi.
In IORA, she is currently leading work on assessment of baseline and future emissions with low Carbon strategies, development of MRV tool for assessing Carbon reduction potential of schemes and projects, developing National Adaptation Plans, drafting PDDs for seeking support for adaptation funds, estimating National GHG and other pollutant emission base lines, Establishing GHG inventory management systems, quantifying drivers of deforestation and degradation of forests in various landscapes for REDD+ projects, developing Monitoring and Evaluation Frameworks for climate change adaptation projects, designing legal and regulatory frameworks for integrating climate smart disaster risk management across departments, assessing ecosystem services generated due to plantations, and drafting handbooks on SAPCCs for dissemination. These projects are being carried out for the governments of Assam, Sikkim, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Ethiopia, and Guyana and are supported by the MoEFCC, GIZ, GGGI, JCCP, CCIP, APFBC and ONGC. Sumana has also guided intern thesis on low C brick sector in India and drafted policy papers on wood is good and the aviation sector.
Prior to IORA, Sumana worked in IC India, MoEFCC, Asia Pacific Network for Climate Change – Japan, and National Physical Laboratory, India. Some of the significant projects managed and implemented by Sumana while in these organisations were India’s 1st and 2nd National Communications to UNFCCC; a Gold Standard biogas project for WWF; National level GHG and other pollutant emission trends for Industrial process and product use sector for India’s BUR1 and for all sectors for ADB supported ALGAS project; State level low Carbon development policies for Shakti Foundation; rationalising farmer field level interventions to minimise Methane emission from rice production for MIGROS, Switzerland; assessing training needs assessment, developing modules and training for integrating climate change adaptation in planning; drafting State Action Plans on Climate Change for Sikkim, West Bengal, Punjab, Tamilnadu, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Haryana for GIZ; Policy paper on institutional strengthening for adaptation to climate extremes for BASIC project; and developing netCDF data bases for INDOEX .
Sumana has contributed to the development of IPCC 1996 and 2006 guidelines for National GHG inventory development; She was awarded the 1st START young scientist award in 1997 for her work on India specific methane emission factors from rice cultivation. She has carried out a number of in-country and desk based reviews for Annex-1 national GHG inventories for UNFCCC. She is also national advisor for WGIA workshops for Asian countries- an initiative of NIES Japan. Sumana has numerous publications in National and International journals and commissioned papers for various agencies including WRI and MoEFCC amongst others.