'Climate change will bring radical change in our everyday lives'

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Cities consume 78 per cent of the world's energy and produce more than 60 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, they account for less than 2 per cent of the Earth's surface- UN Habitat

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Climate change is a global phenomenon that largely impacts urban life. Rising global temperatures causes sea levels to rise, increases the number of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and storms, and increases the spread of tropical diseases. All these have costly impacts on cities' basic services, infrastructure, housing, human livelihoods and health. At the same time, cities are a key contributor to climate change, as urban activities are major sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Estimates suggest that cities are responsible for 75 percent of global CO2 emissions, with transport and buildings being among the largest contributors. (source: UN environment programme)

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The Climate Change and Cities - an introduction program aims to introduce the basic concepts of climate change and discuss the mitigation measures being undertaken on an introductory and non-technical level. Various mitigation measures like the use of low-carbon, renewable energy and other rooted individual and societal responses will be discussed. The program will also introduce present-day research topics in the domain from technological and economic standpoints. 

The program is designed for students who want to plan their future careers in this domain, be it in research or the industry, or want to understand climate change as an immediate crisis in cities and communities. It will span a week of lectures, followed by a short research project to be submitted two weeks later. Regular supervision will be available to students undertaking the project. This project will give students hands-on experience doing research and collecting data on a topic related to climate change and their daily lives, and in preparing an academic report or a presentation or even an animated short film. 

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We welcome students from all backgrounds who want to explore the myriad possibilities of sustainability, climate change mitigation and design in practice across the world.

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