Poonam Mangaraj presented her work on ‘Rethinking crop residue burning (CRB) through the lens of high-resolution observations’ at India Clean Air Summit (ICAS) 2025 organised by Center for Study of Science, Technology, and Policy. The findings were focused on weak linkage between Punjab–Haryana CRB and Delhi PM₂.₅, with meteorology, local emissions, and policy interventions (like GRAP) playing equally critical roles. She emphasised the need of GRAP to evolve from a reactive emergency response to a proactive strategy, alongside the need for an expanded, intercalibrated monitoring system to strengthen forecasting and guide effective long-term mitigation.

SFC hosted Rohit Azad, Associate Professor at the Centre for Studies in Economic Studies and Planning at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Shouvik Chakraborty, Research Associate Professor at Political Economy Institute at University of Massachusetts, Amherst for a discussion on their latest research on socially necessary green development in India. Some key takeaways:
– While one might assume redistributing income to the poor would reduce overall emissions the Indian case reveals a paradox. As poorer households spend more on energy- and carbon-intensive essentials like fuel and electricity, redistribution could actually increase total emissions. The authors call this the carbon inequality paradox.
– More equitable development will require more energy, but that energy need not be fossil-based. A renewable-led energy system can decouple growth from emissions.
– The study proposes: a detailed green development programme that involves redistribution to the poor and working classes via state-led provisioning, and curbing socially unnecessary luxury consumption of elites through direct and indirect taxes.

Aditya Valiathan Pillai presented at a capacity building programme organised for Iloilo province in the Philippines by the NDMA  on 30 July 2025. This was part of India’s efforts to share their experiences and efforts in heatwave planning to other at-risk developing countries. He presented an overview of India’s attempt to create a National Framework for Heatwave Mitigation and Management to foster sub-national level experimentation and implementation of heat actions.

“The global food and land use system costs us around $12 trillion, compared to the market value of the global food system of $10 trillion. This manifests as hidden costs of poverty, ill health, and environmental degradation. That means the way we produce and consume food today is costing us more than we think, and it is hurting both people and the planet” – Sony R K spoke on food systems transformations over 2 sessions at Ashoka Young Scholars Programme. He explored food systems, why they matter, and why changing the current system is crucial for the future of our climate, communities, and ourselves. He also looked at incredible solutions like regenerative agriculture, which helps restore soil, capture carbon, and create healthier farms and ecosystems, and agroecology, which works with nature rather than against it.

SFC collaborated with Purpose to host a closed-door workshop that brought together urban planners, researchers, designers, journalists, and community leaders to co-create community-driven, non-policy responses to extreme heat. Moderated by Escandita Tewari, Sonali Bhasin and Tamanna Dalal, the session was structured around three themes: Heat at Home, Heat at Work, and Heat on the Road and built around the lived realities of four groups: gig workers, factory workers, indoor worker, and construction workers. Representatives from Jan Pahal, Hasiru Dala, SELCO, IIHS, Socratus, WRI, C40, APSA, and The Migration Story participated and surfaced a wide range of grounded and actionable solutions: creating rest hubs for workers, household-level water harvesting, improved ventilation in homes, simplified access to welfare schemes via local IDs, and shelters designed for dense urban areas that account for local climate and can be easily replicated.

Arunesh Karkun conducted a session introducing air pollution and the core concepts of air quality management for a group of exceptionally talented 8th graders at ‘Episteme 2025’, organised by the Pravaha Foundation and held at IIIT-Hyderabad. The interactive session involved group activities and lively conversations about understanding the fundamentals of air pollution, and creating a starting point for these young and eager learners to one day take over the complex world of air quality management.