From 1982 to 1987, he was the Senior Advisor (Energy and Information Technology) to the President of Sri Lanka, helping to formulate and implement the national energy strategy and computer policy. He was founder chairman, Computer and Information Technology Council (CINTEC), and served on the Presidential Commission that determined national telecommunications policy. During this period, he also served as board member, Natural Resources, Energy and Science Authority of Sri Lanka; Governor, Arthur Clarke Centre for Modern Technology, Sri Lanka; and founder-President of the Sri Lanka Energy Managers Association.[3] He was involved with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change since its inception in 1988 and had served as Chancellor of the International Water Academy in Oslo. From 1990 to 1992 Munasinghe was Advisor to the US President's Council on Environmental Quality (PCEQ). Until 2002 he was a Senior Manager/Advisor at the World Bank.
As an academic, he serves as distinguished guest professor at the University of Peking, and visiting professor at the United Nations University in Tokyo. Formerly, he was Director-General and Professor of Sustainable Development at the Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of Manchester, and Institute Professor at the Vale Sustainable Development Institute, Federal University of Para, Brazil. He also served on the board of directors of Green Cross International and was a member of the Club of Rome.
He has authored or co-authored over 120 books and 400 journal articles.[4] He is widely recognised for having first proposed the Sustainomics framework[5] for making development more sustainable at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, and more recently for proposing the Millennium Consumption Goals[6] at the United Nations. He was visiting professor at the Technische Universität Darmstadt.[7]
Awards and honours
Listed are some key awards and honours Prof. Munasinghe has received;
Eminence in Engineering Award 2014 - highest prize bestowed by the Institute of Engineers, apex Engineering body in Sri Lanka, for exceptional contributions to the profession of engineering and to sustainable development in Sri Lanka and worldwide.
Anita Garibaldi Gold Medal for meritorious services to humanity (Brazilian government, 2007)[8]
Sarvodaya Award for Humanity, Peace and Development (2007)
Vice-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize (2007)
Order of Fellowship (honoris causa) of the Independent University of Bangladesh for exceptional contributions to energy, economics and environment (Bangladesh, 2005)
Prof. Munasinghe has authored over 120 academic books and 400 technical papers; [1]. Publications include:
Munasinghe, Mohan (2019). Sustainability in the 21st Century: applying Sustainomics to implement the sustainable development goals. Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-1-108-40415-0.
Munasinghe, Mohan (2010). Making development more sustainable: sustainomics framework and practical applications. MIND Press. ISBN978-1-108-40415-0.
Munasinghe, Mohan (2009). Sustainable development in practice: sustainomics methodology and applications. Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-0-521-89540-8.
Munasinghe, Mohan (2006). Macroeconomic policies for sustainable growth: analytical framework and policy studies of Brazil and Chile. Edward Elgar. ISBN1-84542-494-8.
Rosa, Luiz Pinguelli; Mohan Munasinghe (2002). Ethics, equity, and international negotiations on climate change. Edward Elgar. ISBN1-84376-048-7.
Munasinghe, Mohan; Osvaldo Sunkel; Carlos de Miguel (2001). The sustainability of long-term growth: socioeconomic and ecological perspectives. Edward Elgar. ISBN1-84064-515-6.
Jepma, C. J.; Mohan Munasinghe, Netherlands, Stockholm Environment Institute, Beijer International Institute of Ecological Economics (1998). Climate change policy: facts, issues and analyses. Cambridge University Press. ISBN0-521-59688-2.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
MIND – Munasinghe Institute for Development – private, nonprofit organisation, established to play a key role in nurturing communities of scholars and practitioners who will address sustainable development issues worldwide and explore viable means of achieving this goal in Sri Lanka and elsewhere without compromising economic, environmental and socio-cultural integrity.
