Over eighty people die every day in Delhi alone, because of air pollution causes.

In 2014, the World Health Organisation had named Delhi the most polluted city in
the world, and claimed that thirteen of the twenty most polluted cities are in
India. According to WHO estimates, over 7 million deaths every year are due to
air pollution.
Thus, it is clear that environmental change, particularly climate change has
emerged as a major concern in the 21st century, not only for India, but for the
entire world. The major driving forces behind the deteriorating environmental
conditions of the Earth are deforestation and the large-scale use of fossil fuels
such as coal and petroleum.
The root cause of much of these factors can be traced to the rising demand for
food, water and energy, largely a result of rising standards of living and an
expanding global population. Changes in our lifestyle, and an effort to curb the
unrestricted population growth, while important, can only go so far to stop the
effects of drastic climate change. It is predicted that the global population will
reach 10 billion by the end of the century, and this only highlights the fact that
greater focus is required in the domain of education, research and improving our
scientific understanding of climate change, with efforts to ensure that the best
minds from different regions and communities are given an opportunity to utilise
their potential in this field.
The focus of this essay will be on the education and research strategies to
combat climate change and to mitigate its drastic effects, rather than to
enumerate the various causes and consequences of climate change, which are
already well known.
That the political dispensation is aware of the drastic consequences of climate
change is evident from the initiatives taken up by India to combat climate
change. The Union Environment Ministry recently submitted the Intended
Nationally Determined Contributions at the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change, and set an ambitious target of cutting the emissions intensity of GDP by
33-35 percent from 2005 levels within fifteen years.
India must increase the funding available to its universities for research, and
endeavour to undertake cutting edge research in the fields of climate change,
sustainable development and non-polluting technologies without relying too
greatly on the assistance of other more developed economies. This is because a
technology or solution that is expensive may be viable in the United States or
Germany but may not be feasible for India, since with over half the population
living on less than two dollars a day, it would not be of practical benefit for most
of the consumers.
In this regard, we should look at the Mars Orbiter Mission for inspiration which,
at a cost of $73 million, a fraction of the $670 million cost of NASAs MAVEN, and
even lower than the cost of production of the movie Gravity, was a success in the
maiden attempt of the ISRO, a feat not achieved by any other country. A similar
pattern of innovation and expertise is required in our research and education

strategies. Focus should be more on the practical aspect, and the research must
not remain confined to theory. Any solution that we come up with must take into
account the fact that it should be convenient and of benefit to the common man,
who will, in the final analysis, be its consumer. For example, a fuel that reduces
emissions by a fifth but is very cheap would be of more significance than an
expensive but non- polluting fuel, unless we are able to lessen its cost.
Improving infrastructure and increasing research grants, as well as providing
incentives to young researchers to stay in India, will lead to more innovations in
these fields, and will also help develop the country. Through collaboration with
the private sector, concessions could be given to companies which undertake
research in greener technologies and adopt their use, thus encouraging more
and more private sector companies to take action on this issue.
A significant aspect is improving the working conditions, salaries and benefits of
the academicians. Talented individuals will be attracted to these posts, which
should be filled on the basis of merit. The remunerations in this sector should be
at par with that of the private sector to help draw the brightest researchers, who
may otherwise be deterred from joining.
Another important aspect which must not be disregarded is instilling in younger
minds a sense of responsibility for the environment. Greater emphasis should be
placed in the school curriculum on climate change and environmental
degradation, and students should be taught about the various changes they can
make in their own lifestyle to help reduce pollution. This is of significance, since
it will help attract bright minds to this field, on which the future of the planet
depends.
The greatest challenges facing India are its poverty and inequality, and the
degrading climate. A common mistake is to view development and a sustainable
environment as antagonistic to each other. Rather, this is an opportunity for us, if
we invest in cheaper and economically viable green technologies, India can
simultaneously remove poverty from the face of the country, and improve the
quality of life and environment for its citizens. We could learn in this regard from
Japan, which despite having some of the strictest environmental regulations in
the world is a global leader in technology. This would help India become a true
world leader and a beacon of inspiration for the rest of the world, and should be
an ideal which we should all strive for.
Too often, climate change and pollution are described as vague threats which
concern future generations, but dont affect us. It is therefore heartening to see
world leaders recently discussing these issues at global forums, and taking
concrete steps. We need to act now, to stop the 7 million deaths and countless
health disabilities from rising. After all, we only have on Earth. And it must last us
a while.