Los Cabos (Mexico): The director general of India’s The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), R.K. Pachauri, has been conferred the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle by President Felipe Calderon on the margins of the G20 Summit here.

The award is the highest decoration awarded by Mexico to foreigners for their contributions to humankind. Noted artist Satish Gujaral has been among its recipients from India in the past.

Pachauri was honoured along with Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Robert Zeollick, president of the World Bank, and Nicholas Stern, president of Bitain’s Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.

An official communique said Pachauri, who is also president of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, helped Mexico ensure the link between economic growth and sustainable development.

“He also advised Mexico as chair of the Cancun Conferences on Climate Change.”

President Calderon said Chan supported Mexico and the world during the emergency caused by the A/H1N1 influenza virus, establishing an exceptional degree of cooperation during the most critical moments of the pandemic.

Zeollick, he said, promoted collective global actions in issues such as climate change, trade, agriculture, food security, energy, water, health, the reinforcement of good government and the fight against corruption, among other issues.

The Mexican president thanked Stern for helping his country devise a strategy for promoting growth with lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions

Keywords: Awards