CAS-Climate: Workshop on Charting Net-Zero Carbon, Climate Resilient Transitions from Farms to Cities to National Scales: Learnings Across India and USA

2312305 (Ramaswami). This two-day workshop, to take place in Delhi, India on Jan. 17-18, 2023, will explore state-of-the-science and establish strategic coproduction partnerships between scientists, policymakers, cities, and industry in India and the US. The workshop will focus on multi- scale integration of farm- and city-level operations with larger energy systems models for multi- scale climate-resilient net-zero transition planning. Participants will compare learnings from US and India and identify strategic collaborations. This workshop will identify knowledge gaps and generate multi-scale models for climate-resilient net-zero transitions, linking farm- and urban-level actions with larger macro energy systems models. Participants will compare and contrast engineering and technology strategies across India and the US on distributed energy systems, circular economy transitions leveraging urban- rural interactions, novel construction materials, and farm-level innovations. By bringing together scientists from the US and India with policymakers, local leaders, NGOs, and industry leaders, this workshop will facilitate generation of partnerships and scientific exchange that can help address key knowledge gaps and future collaborative work. This workshop is being organized in consultation and collaboration with the Science & Technology Counsellor of the Indian Embassy in Washington D.C., and the opening keynote is expected to be given by Dr. Ajay Sood, who is Principal Science Advisor to the Government of India. Meetings of scientists with practitioners and policymakers across broad sectors and scales will contribute to learnings about practical considerations in mapping zero-carbon transitions and comparing US and India pathways. The workshop is expected to launch long-term Indo-US research collaboration and knowledge co-production partnerships that will provide data, modeling, and analysis of strategies to achieve decarbonization that are sustainable, climate resilient, and equitable. Creating these successful partnerships will have a large impact because India’s population represents approximately 20% of the world’s population, and United States greenhouse gas emissions represent approximately 20% of worldwide emissions. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.