Making research matter: UK-India Collaboration

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Professor Srinivasan, Director of the Divecha Centre for Climate Change speaking at the workshop

A joint workshop organised by the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial and the Divecha Centre for Climate Change at IISc Bangalore.

Making research matter: UK-India Collaboration

A delegation of distinguished academics from Imperial College London visited Bangalore on Friday 11 January to participate in a joint workshop organised by the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial and the Divecha Centre for Climate Change at IISc Bangalore.

The workshop, entitled ‘Understanding climate change: working together to meet the challenges’, explored the challenges faced by communities in India and beyond, discussed the contribution that research universities could make to tackling these issues, and focussed on two key areas, namely solar power and low-carbon resilient cities.

The workshop participants included senior decision makers in business and government and were welcomed by IISc Director, Professor Balaram. Imperial’s President and Rector, Sir Keith O’Nions, highlighted the synergies between basic research and translation, both grounded in the world-class research taking place at Imperial. Growing economic interdependence together with the global nature of some of the major issues affecting countries today, meant that strong research collaborations between universities, business and governments were vital in addressing societal challenges such as climate change, health and energy.

Attendees at the �understanding climate change� workshop at the Divecha Centre for Climate Change

Attendees at the 'understanding climate change' workshop at the Divecha Centre for Climate Change

Karnataka’s Chief Secretary, Mr Ranganath, also emphasised the need for expert advice and guidance to help governments make the right decisions. He noted five main challenges faced by Karnataka: food, water, and energy security, continued urbanisation, and finally climate change, which had the potential to impact all preceding challenges if left unchecked. Measures taken to deal with climate change would need to support continued growth and development, and improve the life and wellbeing of citizens in a resource-efficient manner.

The tension between economic development and mitigation produced a variety of perspectives. Some argued that growth and development of poor regions such as India should come first. Professor Srinivasan, Chairman of the Divecha Centre, argued that India’s emissions were only a small part of the global problem and that arguments for renewable energy based on energy security and health would be more effective in driving change. Professor Sir Brian Hoskins, Director of the Grantham Institute, reminded participants of the huge importance of the monsoon, which was at risk from climate change. More frequent droughts or flooding events put at risk food and energy security for those populations affected. It was this risk that might enable governments, business and academia to change the terms of the debate in India. Climate change was central to planning India’s future development trajectory.

Examples of projects aimed at investigating and delivering options that support new growth and development in India were highlighted throughout the day. These UK–India collaborations see the exchange of knowledge between partners, merging leading expertise, technologies and techniques from the UK with complementary expertise from India, and incorporating their understanding of the regions in which solutions will be applied. Such collaborations included a joint initiative investigating how land-use change affects water resources in the Ganges River basin, potentially driving climatic changes in the region. This work could have far reaching implications, with an improved understanding of how the natural water systems functioning in these regions may affect larger climate systems such as the monsoon. Ultimately this project should provide guidance to local communities so that they can manage their water resources with some foresight to future conditions.

Other sessions focussed on continued urbanisation and the challenges this poses for the growing populations in these areas. Issues associated with increased transport, energy demand, waste, water and the availability of food will require new solutions to allow communities to thrive and growth to continue. Without mitigation and adaptation, cities in the future could be seriously affected by potential changes in climate as well as unsustainable demands on the Indian economy to purchase oil and gas from other countries. On the energy front, energy demand management and efficiency measures could help to reduce consumption within cities, while new technologies such as solar energy could provide access to renewable energy for communities who otherwise may not have electricity. Ongoing collaborative work between Imperial and IISc to assess the mitigative potential of solar energy would help provide data to support decision making.

Professor Srinivasan, Director of the Divecha Centre for Climate Change

Professor Srinivasan, Director of the Divecha Centre for Climate Change

During the final session for the day, a distinguished panel (see speakers below) highlighted the need to better understand the geographical regions in which potential solutions will be developed, so that the right mix of options is applied according to the resources available. There was a positive message for the potential development of solar in India, but there was also a need to encourage more innovation and communicate the issue of climate change more strongly to those in a position to support low-carbon development. Summing up, Professor Srinivasan noted that there was a leadership vacuum in this area and that countries will look to India, UK, EU and USA to show new directions to respond to the issues of resource scarcity and climate change.

The full presentations from the day are available below.

List of speakers at the day: