Gnana Sri Bhavani G

Gnana Sri Bhavani is a climate and sustainability professional bridging frontline voices and policy. As Special Project Coordinator at the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, she handles regulatory frameworks and compliance. As the sole Indian delegate in the UNDP RYPCA (2024–2026 cohort), she advocates globally for gender-just climate leadership and youth policy engagement. Her insights on support systems for women climate professionals feature in the UNDP ‘Navigating Climate Governance’ report. As a former Chief Minister's Green Fellow (2023–2025), she launched over 40 community programmes, executed environmental schemes, and drafted district sustainability blueprints like the Single-Use Plastic-Free District Action Plan. She also led UNEP’s Tide Turners Plastic Challenge in Tamil Nadu, mobilising over 150 institutions and earning recognition from UNEP. Blending hands-on execution, policy expertise, and research, she is dedicated to shaping resilient, equitable governance grounded in community realities.

With her project, Kural Podcast, Bhavani seeks to create a bilingual (Tamil and English) podcast where grassroots voices  discuss climate impacts alongside policymakers/researchers . She aims to shift climate conversations away from exclusive rooms , bring lived experiences to the forefront and translate them into policy briefs with youth from the community leading the process.