Global Centre for Environment and Energy - Ahmedabad University

Bijal Vachharajani is an award-winning author of multiple books on climate change and the environment for the children. She is also Commissioning Editor at Pratham Books. Some of her books include ‘10 Indian Champions Who are Fighting to Save the Planet’, ‘Earth, Our Home’, and ‘The Great Indian Nature Trail’. Ms. Vaccharajani visited Ahmedabad University and spoke with our Chief of Staff, Ridhesh Joshi, about her writing career and challenges in climate communication. In her interaction, Ms. Vaccharajani said that her interest in writing books on environment for children got cultivated early on in her career. She used to run a School Contact Program called ‘Kids for Tigers’ with Sanctuary Asia, which was India’s first wildlife magazine. Every time she had a conversation with children about tiger conservation or the changing climate, she would come away amazed, and ultimately realized that books were a space where she found her imagination and a space where children could imagine a better future for themselves. On being asked about the challenges of writing about complex issues such as climate change for children, she said children are curious and have a very strong sense of justice. She told that while interviewing a number of climate scientists and environmentalists, she realized that the books they read have gone on to influence their career choices. Books give you a safe space within fiction and non-fiction to be able to unpack the complexities of the world we are living in. And this is why talking to children about climate change becomes important. She further went on to say that it is unfortunate that people’s relationship with the environment now is either transactional or anxiety ridden. Moreover, we no longer consider ourselves as part of the environment; we have started othering the environment. Our culture has a huge role in bringing climate change back into mainstream consciousness. Hence, there is a need to have conversations about it in spaces such as a university and the relationship with nature needs to keep being forged. It is only when students continue to love nature is when they are going to grow up to want to defend in whatever way they can – whether it’s in writing, whether it’s law or management. What is important is touchpoints with nature constantly. #environment #climatechange Minal Pathak

The Global Centre for Environment and Energy - Ahmedabad University hosted a meeting to present its final set of findings and recommendations on the ‘Net Zero Strategy for Gujarat’ on October 16. This project is a collaborative effort between the Global Centre for Environment Energy at Ahmedabad University and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) to develop a comprehensive Net Zero strategy for the state of Gujarat, and is supported by the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre (UNEP-CCC). The speakers at the meeting included Dr. Subash Dhar, Senior Researcher at UNEP-CCC; Professor Minal Pathak, Associate Professor at Ahmedabad University; Dr. Aiymgul Kerimray, Scientist at UNEP-CCC; Dr. Vaibhav Chaturvedi, Senior Fellow at CEEW; Dr. Aman Malik, Programme Lead at CEEW, and Amit Kumar Dubey, PhD scholar at the GCEE. The presentations detailed various areas which would require interventions to move towards a net zero scenario. These include decarbonisation of industries, greater efficiency in building design and construction, shift in the energy mix towards renewables, and sustainable transportation options.  The meeting saw participation from various stakeholders, including colleagues from GETRI, GERMI, TERI, IIT Gandhinagar and faculty members and research staff from Ahmedabad University. Several stakeholders shared very constructive feedback on the analysis and recommendations shared, which will be incorporated into the final report.  

We are delighted to share that Prof P.R. Shukla was recognized in Stanford University World’s Top 2% Scientists List for 2024. This list is an esteemed ranking that identifies the most cited scholars in their fields. The rankings are derived from the Scopus database data and highlight researchers whose work has had a significant impact across various scientific disciplines. Prof Shukla was recognized for his work in the ‘Energy’ field. He has also served as the Co-Chair of Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s sixth Assessment Cycle (AR6). Minal Pathak Amrut Mody School of Management

GCEE's Research Associate, Shaurya Patel, recently participated in a session on "Nuclear Disarmament & Youth Empowerment: Safeguarding the Next Generation'. The session comprised a group of esteemed panelists including officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA). This event was organized by YOUNGO Climate Peace and Security Working Group, YOUNGO Energy Working Group and YOUNGO Science Working Group as part of the Nuclear Week. Shaurya was one of the two moderators of the session. The discussions were centred around the role that multilateral organizations and watchdogs such as the UNODA and IAEA play in furthering nuclear disarmament and how nuclear energy is integrated into the climate change mitigation efforts. The panel also advocated empowerment of the youth through education to ensure a more secure, nuclear-free, and climate-resilient future. Minal Pathak Amrut Mody School of Management

The GCEE was honoured to host Professor Youba Sokona, Vice Chair at Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Sixth Assessment Cycle (AR6) under the Sustainability Seminar Series, in collaboration with the Foundation Studio, Ahmedabad University. Professor Sokona has been associated with the IPCC for over three decades and is acknowledged globally as an authority in matters of climate change and voicing the needs of the Global South. During his talk, he spoke about the need for countries from the Global South to come together and frame their own climate agenda since the current dispensation may not be able to appreciate their specific needs. He also said that if we want to limit the impact of climate change, then energy transition alone will not serve us. We would be required to leapfrog to ensure that energy transition is fast and acceptable to people especially in peri-urban and rural settings. He further emphasised the need to learn sustainability and climate action from the lives of figures such as Mahatma Gandhi. The students as well as faculty members asked several questions around issues of climate change, water availability and urban infrastructure. He also spoke about the need for students from India to partner with African institutions to understand each other’s challenges and collaborate on issues of mutual importance. Minal Pathak Amrut Mody School of Management

The Global Centre for Environment and Energy (GCEE) at Ahmedabad University kickstarted the new academic year with the Sustainability Seminar Series lecture by Dr Rajagopalan Balaji, Professor and Former Chair in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering (CEAE) at the University of Colorado Boulder. Dr Balaji spoke about the Indian monsoon hydroclimate and its variability. He highlighted the fact that there has been an increase in the intensity of monsoon’s variability, which is exacerbated by climate change. He also spoke about the need for modeling space-time variability in order to effectively mitigate the negative impacts of hydroclimate extreme events. The students found the lecture extremely engaging and asked several thoughtful questions. Dr Balaji also encouraged students to take up careers in climate science and modeling. He motivated students to read research papers to understand how academic research can be used to find solutions to some of the most pressing climate issues. #AhmedabadUniversity #ClimateChange