It is well known that the issue of climate change played a central part in M. S. Swaminathan’s vision of ecological sustainability. His continued and intense interest in mangroves and coastal protection in the light of sea-level rise, developed over the past 30 years at the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), reflected this aspect of his vision. However, what is perhaps less well known is that Professor Swaminathan (henceforth MSS) was one of the pioneers in evolving a global perspective on global warming and anthropogenic warming and their impact on human society, especially with reference to agriculture. MSS also specifically contributed to the early development of the two key multilateral initiatives that shape the global response to the climate challenge today, namely the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

In this brief note, we trace some of his key interventions in the period 1977–1992, a period that began when he was Director-General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), until the time that MSSRF began to occupy a major part of his time and energy.1 These interventions were often, in collaboration with S. K. Sinha, his colleague at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), who himself had a distinguished career at that institution, eventually serving as its director.