The University of Chicago Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth and the Ahmedabad University Climate Institute piloted a new India Summer Fellows Program in July 2025. In this pilot program based at Ahmedabad University (AU), 15 students from the University of Chicago join students from Ahmedabad University in an immersive, experiential program exploring energy, climate and growth issues in an Indian context.
Read on-the-ground reflections from the India Summer Fellows below.
July 7
The first day at Ahmedabad University was a great mix of ice-breakers, campus exploration, and thought-provoking lectures that kickstarted our climate journey. I was amazed to learn about the variety of indigenous species right on campus, and how the open architecture supports natural ventilation. It felt like a great intro to the city and a wonderful chance to bond with the students here.
In our lectures, Professor Minal Pathak introduced us to the carbon budget: humans emit 40 gigatons of CO₂ yearly, but the remaining budget is just 220 gigatons. It really hit me how little time we have left. The concept of “grandfathered emissions” also stuck with me, about how our current climate state is a result of past emissions, and this lag means we can’t just bounce back overnight.
Professor Darshini Mahadevia’s talk on gender and climate was especially eye-opening. I was struck by how vulnerable home-based women workers are in Indian cities with little to no infrastructure that accounts for sanitation, heat protection, and access to transportation. It made me wonder, if we reframe the narrative to prioritize their needs, would we still engage in our climate action?
Lastly, Mr. Kaushik Deb and Mr. Ashwin Rode helped us unpack big-picture energy realities. I was shocked that fossil fuels are still projected to dominate by 2050. Overall, the day left me deeply humbled and ready to dive deeper in climate action towards solutions with this cohort.
July 8
By Tony Wu
In the morning, we participated in a heritage walking tour through the old city of Ahmedabad. First, we had a quick tour of the Swaminarayan Temple, the first temple of the Swaminarayan Sampraday. We then walked to Kavi Dalpatram Chowk, an open square with a statue commemorating Dalpatram Dahyabhai Travadi, a renowned Gujarati poet, writer, and Sanskrit scholar. Along the way, we saw cows resting on the streets, an interesting sight for a lot of us. We passed through Kuvavala Khancho, a neighborhood intersection named after the well located within it. One interesting feature of this neighborhood was the numerous Parrot Holes carved into the exterior walls of homes, made to allow birds to rest and prepare their nests in absence of trees. What struck me most was the friendlessness and coexistence shown by local residents toward different animals. Elevated structure designed for feeding birds and small animals are a common sight in the neighborhoods, ensuring they can eat peacefully without being threatened by stray dogs or cats. Food is also placed on the ground below these structures for the dogs and cats.
After the walking tour, we received wonderful speeches from Professor Aditya Ghosh spoke on the concept of emerging riskscapes in Ahmedabad, and Renu Desai on urbanization in India, climate risks, and the impacts on social relationships and power dynamics. We concluded today’s program with a moderated discussion led by Mona Mehta, where students reflected on what we’ve learned so far about urban forms and explored how the city of Ahmedabad compares to Chicago and other cities around the world. It was an enriching and thought-provoking day.
July 9
By Rudra Patel
My day started with an interesting talk from Mr. Kaushik Deb (EPIC India) where I learnt about the Kuznet’s curve, social cost of carbon, ETS Schemes, and the history of RnD in renewable energy. The part I found most fascinating was the need for technology transfer and international cooperation specifically between OECD and developing countries. The next talk was by Dr. Snighda Khuntia where I learnt about wastewater management and how crucial the water industry is. I learnt that nuclear power plants require water much cleaner than that of what we drink and hence there is a high scope for making water treatment plants sustainable in the long run. I found it interesting how natural solutions (mangroves to flooding) seemed to be better than the best human interventions! The last talk of the day was focussed on congestion pricing in cities around the world. Thinking about implementing this policy in Delhi, we looked at case studies from London, NYC, Singapore and Stockholm, which used AI and GPS models to charge real time prices for traffic entering certain zones.
For the second half of the day, we undertook a transport exercise where we used the local BRT bus to go to the Sundarvan Zoo where we saw exotic birds, snakes, turtles, porcupines and even fed some ducks! With the experience, we learnt about the issues faced by public transport in Ahmedabad along with an understanding of the prevalence of the use of motorbikes compared to public transport. To end the day we played some pickleball at the riverfront and had some masala paneer for dinner!
July 10
Today was (in my opinion) one of the best days on the trip so far!! We started by visiting various sites of the organization SEWA, the Self-Employed Women’s Association. The first site we visited was a chawl, a type of housing community. We have been learning about how rising temperatures, even indoors, are a growing issue in India due to climate change. This is especially significant for women, many of whom work in the informal sector inside their homes. We saw in the chawls multiple installations intended to address this issue, including plants that grow across the roofs and prevent heat from entering the house and fans that keep the air circulating.
After, we visited some of SEWA’s business centers. The first sold stationery made of recycled paper, and the second was a textile organization. The business model was really cool—women who worked as embroiderers for the organization had the option to become shareholders in the company! It was really inspiring to see an organization that not only promotes female employment, but also female leadership and management of businesses.
There were a couple different lectures we listened to today, but by far my favorite (given my bias towards anything chemistry-related) was that by Dr. Anil Patel from Ahmedabad University’s Bagchi School of Public Health. Currently, the air quality index (the one on the weather app!), is calculated using the concentration of pollutants in the air. Dr. Patel’s research, however, investigates how this might not give a complete picture of how healthy the air is to breathe. When air circulates (e.g. from the northwest of India to the south during the wintertime), it can react during transit. It will oxidize (incorporate more oxygen atoms into its molecular structure), which makes it even more harmful to the body. This air, which has travelled and reacted, is referred to as “aged air.” The level of harm is reported as a number called the Oxidative Potential (OP) of a certain pollutant molecule. This means that if pollution travels from City A to City B, even though City B might have a lesser concentration of pollutants in its air than City A, those that end up in City B are worse for health. As a result, the air in both places will cause comparable amounts of damage to individuals that breathe it daily.
As a chem student, it was fascinating to hear, at the molecular level, how the pollutants I’ve learned so much about this past week do damage to the body. It was also interesting to see an example of how climate science is still constantly evolving, and that there’s still so much research to be done before we get a full understanding of how climate issues like air pollution affect human health.
July 11
Today was a day packed with interesting lectures! We spent the morning hearing from Mr. Ashwin Rode about the negative impacts of extreme rainfall on health, exploring in detail how city-level data in Mumbai was used to determine the relationship between increased rainfall and the number of deaths in the weeks after. During this session, I enjoyed diving into the details of the empirical process, since we haven’t had a chance to understand the complex process of howthe results we’ve been seeing are actually generated from raw data. Throughout Mr. Rode’s lecture, the unequal impacts of climate change played a central role, as individuals living in informal housing such as slums bear about 90% of the mortality burden from extreme rainfall. Furthermore, women had higher mortality than men because of extreme rainfall, demonstrating how already vulnerable groups are most affected from extreme rainfall.
After lunch, we dove into a different extreme: heat. Professor Dileep Mavalankar took us through research about mortality after the 2010 Ahmedabad heat wave which showed that the heat wave led to an excess of 800 deaths. Although there were 800 excess deaths during the heat wave, only 76 heat stroke deaths were reported, meaning that a lot of heat-related deaths were not reported. Building on the high mortality rate after the 2010 heat wave, Ahmedabad created a Heat Action Plan to increase public awareness through community outreach, build capacity of the medical community, and reduce heat exposure by providing services like water distribution and painting roofs with reflective paint to reduce indoor temperature.
Our final lecture of the day was from Dr. Anshuman Tiwari, who focused on the economic impacts of climate change. I was shocked to learn that the Social Cost of Carbon (which summarizes the total economic damage from 1 ton of CO2 emitted today) is $190 per ton of CO2. Putting a number to the damage helps make it easier to understand greenhouse gas emissions as an urgent issue.
Something I really love about this program is that it is very interdisciplinary, and we have learned about climate change and its impacts through a variety of lenses. Understanding this economic approach where we looked at the value of macro-level economic data got me thinking about one of yesterday’s lectures which focused on the social side of climate change and emphasized the more micro-level, local data. Having these two perspectives—one emphasizing the value of macro-level data and the other emphasizing micro-level data—got me thinking about the value of using both in different contexts. It is important at the global level for countries to understand the economic cost of climate change in terms of the GDP. However, it is also important to contextualize these economic costs at a more local level to make the economic cost of climate change more apparent to citizens, even those who live in areas that are not as directly or severely impacted by climate change.
July 14
Today was the start of our second week of lectures in Ahmedabad! Last week, we focused on the variety of urban vulnerabilities driven by climate change. This week, we are transitioning to a discussion of the solution space.
A complex web of factors contributes to the growing issue of climate change and its impacts are felt so widely that thus far, it has felt quite daunting to approach the solution space and finding a place to begin feels impossible. In her presentation entitled “Solutions at the Urban Scale,” Professor Minal Pathak started off our morning with a simplified overview of the approaches that key actors are taking to address climate change, making solutions seem a bit more tangible. Current lack of action is rooted in redirected responsibility, non-transformative solutions, over-emphasis of the downsides of proposed solutions, and viewing change as impossible. To overcome these challenges, Professor Pathak explained that we must focus our efforts on mitigative and adaptive methods.
Professor Anant Sudarshan then lectured on some potential mitigative tactics in “Solving the Air Pollution Problem in Developing Countries: Regulatory Innovation and Market Based Approaches.” I thought the coolest intervention that Professor Sudarshan explored was the emissions trading scheme in Surat because of the trial and error it took to reach this solution. Using continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS) alone did not result in a significant reduction in emissions, but using CEMS to assist in the emissions trading scheme reduced emissions by 24% in participating industries. Professor Suadarshan challenged us to think about what is already happening, why it might not be working, and how to make it work. His work highlights the fact that there is not a clear-cut solution to climate change, but by reviewing what has already been implemented, we can adapt our methodology for better results.
We ended our session with a discussion led by Dr. Anshuman Tiwari on “Current Focus and Expected Focus Strategy.” We discussed a variety of solution categories, including nature-based climate solutions; market-based solutions; changes to social, cultural, and behavioral norms; new technologies; and infrastructure. After lectures, we ate dinner (panipuri and chili lotus stems, it was delish!), played foosball, and continued working on our home-made Catan set, which we are hoping to have finished by tomorrow!
July 15
By Rhea Gupta
Today we visited the Mahila Housing Trust (MHT) office, where we learned how the organization empowers women in low-income communities to become leaders in climate resilience. MHT helps improve housing conditions, access to clean energy, water, sanitation, and disaster preparedness. Their grassroots approach ensures that vulnerable populations, mainly women, are central to decision-making and solutions.
We then observed a rainwater harvesting system where water is collected via a 16-meter pipe and filtered through layers of charcoal, gravel, and sand before entering a 180-foot deep well. Visiting a nearby site showed how clean water from this system is distributed to households through a drainage filter. It was simple but powerful technology meeting real needs.
Later, we participated in a simulated IPCC-style negotiation to solve any pressing issue in the Sabarmati River. Each group represented different issues as if we were the government and citizens. We proposed actionable solutions for each problem, dealing with curveballs like temperature rise and political resistance. This showed us that we had to adapt, compromise, and still advocate for our priorities. It was chaotic, frustrating, and completely real.
This negotiation helped me understand the complexity of climate governance and how hard consensus is. I now see climate solutions not as fixed answers but as constantly negotiated balances between equity, feasibility, and urgency.
July 16
By Arthur Cao
Today began with an excursion to Project Adopt a Queen (PAQ), an Ahmedabad-based apiculture organization. There, we learned about the centrality of bees to agriculture (which is especially important to India given that ~20% of its GDP comes from agriculture) and various technological apiculture solutions that PAQ has developed, including a hive monitoring system and a scanner that can check honey quality. I was very impressed by the passion and knowledge that PAQ demonstrated during our visit.
After coming back to Ahmedabad University, we heard from AU anthropology professor Suchismita Das about social responses to climate change in Northeast India. States like Sikkim have faced larger cloudbursts caused by heightened greenhouse gas emissions and increased landslides whose effects are magnified by unsustainable development. I thought Professor Das’ comments on how religious leaders could spearhead climate action were especially interesting—she discussed a Buddhist monastery in Sikkim that has banned plastic use since 2015.
The day concluded with presentations from sustainable startups that emerged out of VentureStudio, an incubator at AU: India Recycles sells secondhand clothing (and products made thereof); Oizom manufactures ambient air quality monitors, and Earth Tatva creates ceramic material from recycled ceramic waste. India Recycles’ founder, Renu Pokharna, noted that secondhand clothing is often looked down on in India due to classist and casteist reasons, so the company had to do a fair amount of messaging about the benefits of secondhand shopping. It was valuable to hear about how certain cultural norms could be obstacles for green business initiatives.
July 17
By Evan Zhang
For today’s event, we learned a lot about how we, as citizens of our community and city, can actually create change within the realm of climate change. Professor Kopal Agrawal, a consultant and climate specialist native to India, works with the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW). With her accrued knowledge and industry familiarity, she provided mentorship and guidance as to how young innovators, both local Indian students as well as American students, can apply steps in order to address climate change on a regional and global scale. Specifically, the precise steps, which are intervention, goals, evaluating a state and/or city action plan, analyzing and understanding local-level implementation challenges, and drafting a mini city climate action plan with localized policies from stakeholders not only allowed me to gain a better grasp of the specific geopolitical issues and nuance that the Global South and India faces, but also how this can be applied in our own communities.
We also had the pleasure of listening to a seminar given by Mansee Bal Bhargava, the national president of the WICCI Water Resources Council. She used a storytelling approach to provide her philosophical approach to climate change, causing us to think about climate change with a grassroots approach, highlighting the morality (and immorality) that comes with the cause, and how it is important to highlight every individual that is involved. In conclusion, today was a fantastic way to close off a busy Thursday at Ahmedabad University!
July 21
By Pari Shah
Today, the agenda was to visit the Lohum Lithium Battery company and CEEW. On our drive, we saw men carrying jugs of water over their backs. The Kanwariya pilgrimage is taking place where men trek to the Ganges River, collect its holy water, and carry the water back to their homes. This sounds fairly simple, but these men are actually travelling hundreds of miles by foot, taking about 30 days. It’s amazing to see how dedicated people are to spirituality. This prompted a conversation in the bus about if we would ever become monks or nuns and could achieve that peace within ourselves.
We arrived at Lohum around 10 and were greeted by the CEO, researchers, and a UChicago intern working there. Lohum is a sustainable battery company that recycles critical materials for large companies and incorporates these materials into new products. They work with businesses like TATA and Samsung but also collaborate with the informal sector tasked with segregating metals. These families have been separating metals for generations and know the work well. Lohum helps provide safety measures and helps them generate market prices that match the value of the materials they are reselling (ensuring they don’t get robbed). We walked around the labs and saw the membranes they create to filter a specific critical metal out of a material and the researchers testing the critical metal content in their products. We then visited one of their sites where they generated the second-generation critical metals. They used pressurized gas to fuel their machines!
Then, we went over to CEEW. They are a public policy think tank that uses their research to implement local and national level projects. They were telling us about initiatives where they employed hundreds of rural women to collect power bills door-to-door, helping companies do work they could not do on their own. They also started a generation of women (electric) rickshaw drivers by working with the local government to subsidize the costs of electric vehicles and providing support for women aspiring to be drivers. They told the stories of these women through various modes of storytelling such as film, cartoons, and poetry. We met two UChicago interns working there this summer which inspired a lot of us to apply there for next summer. On our way out, they gave us cupcakes, sandwiches, and tea (definitely enticing us to apply even more). We met the tiniest cats I’ve ever seen leaving the building and took photos. After that, we explored the city, worked out, and ate lots of mangoes. Very eye-opening day!
July 22
Today we visited one company, ReNew, and one research group, Centre for Science and Environment. We started the morning by having breakfast at the hotel which for me consisted of a masala dosa, has browns, and a double espresso. I had to eat these quite quickly though because we had an early report time of 8:25!
Once we got on the bus we had a drive which was supposed to be one and a half hours, but Delhi traffic lengthened it to over two hours! Our first stop was ReNew, a company focused on building out India’s renewable energy capacity. We learned that India has a singular electrical market run by the government but constructed and operated by a variety of private corporations. The Indian government is trying to make 500 gigawatts of this unified market come from renewable energies, and ReNew is on the forefront of this process. Their singular customer is the Indian government, and they bid for contracts put out by them. It was interesting to hear about the Indian government’s approach building out their renewable sector. The fact that they have a unified market instead of regional ones seems to make the process more streamlined and efficient, as it avoids the fragmentation and coordination challenges often seen in decentralized systems. ReNew highlighted how this centralized approach allows for large-scale projects to be implemented more swiftly, as they don’t have to navigate varying regulations or incentives across different states.
After the engaging session at ReNew, we headed to the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a well-known research and advocacy organization focused on sustainable development. Here, the discussion shifted from industry practices to policy and environmental justice. CSE emphasized the importance of ensuring that India’s renewable energy expansion doesn’t come at the cost of ecological damage or social inequity.
The first half of our visit consisted of getting a guided tour of their building’s water reclamation system. Their building was designed such that rainwater and waste water was reclaimed without the use of any additional energy. This was done by creating many routes for water to flow through different reservoirs and filtration mechanisms, like rocks and sand. While it was initially confusing why they went into such great detail about the design of the building, once they began to share their organizational philosophy, it all began to make sense. As I understand it, CSE believes in a decentralized and integrated approach to solving the climate crisis. They believe a climate resilient future must come from the enabling of a multitude of different groups and actors to combat different localized aspects of the climate crisis. This bottom-up approach thus requires all parties involved to take on multiple types of responsibility. Think tanks and institutes can’t just “think,” they must also be building out resilience in their own area (i.e. the water reclamation system) and engaging in the types of work that entails.
This leads me to the most interesting aspect of their work, which is their climate education program. Each year, the group trains roughly ~2,000 government officials and related professionals on a series of different topics related to implementing climate resilience at the local level. This may involve explaining infrastructure designs, agricultural practices, or even different modes of engagement. When officials leave this school they become enabled to approach these issues without depending on constant consultation with outside experts. This not only makes implementation easier, but also works towards a decentralization of decision making and problem solving. To this end, CSE proved to be one of the most unique and sincere groups that we were introduced to in our time in Delhi.
Once we wrapped up with this visit, we headed back to the hotel. The night then consisted of a visit to Delhi’s Deer Park and the historic Haus Khas Village tucked inside of the park. Both of which I highly recommend!
July 23
Today was the final day of our climate fellowship, and while I felt a bit melancholic reminiscing on all the memories that our group had made during our time in India, I was still excited to meet with more companies on the career trek portion of our stay.
We firstly met with WWF-India and engaged in critical discussions about their multilevel approach to addressing climate problems affecting wildlife conservation. Our following session with the Climate Group focused on pinpointing strategies in accelerating climate action within various institutions. We then headed for a meeting with The Energy Resource Institute (TERI). This ended up being my favorite session of the day due to their unique approach to distributing renewable energy using innovations such as mycorrhizae biofertilizers and oil spill cleaning technologies. Our final visit of the day was with the U.S embassy, which enlightened me on the importance of foreign diplomacy within the context of environmental policy.
After completing this busy yet fruitful final leg of our fellowship, it became clear that our time in India was coming to a close. The journey back from the embassy was full of heartfelt speeches from our organizers and peers, and funny recountings of all our favorite moments from the fellowship. In saying our final goodbyes, I remained grateful for this unforgettable learning experience, and the treasured bonds that were formed along the way.