India, Feb. 14 -- The former head of IPCC died at 79 leaving behind a trail of headlines on climate change

I met RK Pachauri, the former head of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in June 2006 for an interview. Though he asked for "talking points" in advance, I informed him about my only question: "Why India has the right to emit more carbons?" The agreement was to have him talking around this question only, with the regular probing interruptions.

As I entered his office (that later became the centre of many sexual harassment allegations, ultimately leading to his fall from grace), he said in his grave voice even before the customary greetings: "India has no choice but to ...