The Bumpy Path to Climate Change

Toufiq A. Siddiqi was born in Hyderabad, India, and studied mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge University, England. He received his Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics from the Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität, Frankfurt, Germany. In 1967 he and his wife Ulrike emigrated to the United States where he continued his research at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

During this time, he began to shift his focus from physics to environmental sciences, driven by the developing public environmental awareness at that time. With his science background, he created and taught the first interdisciplinary curriculum for a comprehensive environmental studies program. His vision and early contributions were instrumental in founding Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

As a senior research fellow at the East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, and regional advisor for Energy for the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in Bangkok, Thailand, he organized regional workshops and seminars on sustainable energy development, and the effects of climate change. His extensive projects and travels were supported by the UN Development Program, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, and governments.

One of Dr. Siddiqi's most notable international achievements was developing a lasting collaboration between Chinese and other international scientists. His projects on global environmental issues, relating to all policymakers and scientists in the regions, were the beginning of a common understanding of our mutual dependency.

His professional ability to assess, report and advise on complex regional and inter-regional climate issues had given credibility to his recommendations for policy makers and project leaders. In 1985, he was invited to join the newly established Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to serve as a researcher and lead author on special reports. He was honored as one of the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to IPCC, in 2008.