Climate change: Experts want new, practical ideas

The stage is set to find young minds that can come up with ideas to wage a war against global warming.

The stage is set to find young minds that can come up with ideas to wage a war against global warming.

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The Hindustan Times-Brightest Young Climate Leader (BYCL) summit has already received over 130 entries and more are pouring in from across the country.

The deadline for accepting applications has been extended to January 15, 2010.

The British Council, whose initiatives such as the 'International Climate Champions' and festivals of climate change films and documentaries have become pioneering landmark events in international climate change awareness drives, is now a partner of HT-BYCL, promoting it through its members.

Judging the entries to select the elite club of 50 best applications for the competition will be a panel of experts in the field of climate change, sustainable technologies, energy efficiency and also pure, passionate participants in the anti-global warming protests.

There is John Elkington, founder of SustainAbility and Volans, and the author of the famous book 'Triple Bottom Line' that pioneered the concept of anti-climate change responsibility of corporate houses.

Also on the panel is celebrated actor Rahul Bose, a famous face in India’s anti-global warming chorus in Copenhagen. The judges have a lot of expectation from the applications.

“I will be looking for ideas that are simple and can be easily implemented and taken to the masses,” said Saurabh Kumar, Secretary, Bureau of Energy Efficiency.

“Nothing run of the mill will do. The ideas will have to be practicable in a non-complex way.”

For Shailaja Chandra, former Chief Secretary of Delhi, and one of the judges, the ideas must have something that can be implemented.

“Mere ideas are not enough. I will look for real solutions that can be replicated,” she said.

“We have received so many applications. And the good part is that most of the applications are in the original ideas category,” said Ishani Chattopadhyay, director of Arctic Holdings, the carbon-management company that is organising the event.

“We are sure to find some brilliant, out of the box concepts in the applications.”