As I arrive at Rajendra Pachauri’s office in a leafy part of New Delhi, my host also sweeps in, mid-conversation with another visitor. This overlap is typical for Pachauri, who juggles two high-profile roles. His “day job” is here at The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri), a think-tank where he is director-general.

But it is his other job that has thrust him into the global spotlight. Pachauri is chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world’s top scientific body on climate change. It shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with the former US vice-president Al Gore.