Sunita Narain

Indian environmental activist

A writer and political activist Sunita Narain heads the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and is editor of fortnightly magazine Down To Earth. Her critique of environmental policy in India is significant in its own right, but she also acts as a global voice on sustainable development. After the Durban talks in 2011, she took the Western media to task for repeating a message of blaming India. She is known for taking on soft-drink manufactures over pesticides, or at least pushing for regulation of them. Narain was keen to stress the campaign was not about targeting American multinationals, but pressuring the Indian Government to impose mandatory health standards. Narain has also been active on campaigns around air pollution and water, we well as climate change. She tweets at @sunitanar.