Environmentalist R K Pachauri, a former TERI chief under whose chairmanship the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, passed away on Thursday after a prolonged cardiac ailment. He was 79.

In a statement, his family said Pachauri underwent a major heart surgery before succumbing to his deteriorating health on Thursday. He was admitted to Escorts Heart Institute here on Tuesday.
Pachauri passed away at his residence in the national capital with wife, daughter and son by his side.