Fighting Climate Change C40 Mega City Symposium Conference

To promote Secretary of State John Kerry’s recently outlined environmental policies, the U.S. Consulate in Kolkata will host a “Climate Change Environmental Symposium featuring a conference on climate change followed by activities involving local climate change leaders to counter climate change in three major cities of Eastern and Northeastern India in the consular district – Kolkata, Patna and Guwahati. The goal of the program is to encourage the three cities to develop their own goals to address environmental/climate change concerns and hence find a place among the C40 group of cities. The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) is a network of the world’s megacities committed to addressing climate change. Experts invited to the conference will address world environmental issues highlighting the challenges faced by the local population in the region. It will be a one day event with a half day conference in Kolkata where the other two cities will be connected electronically. In the second half, each city will organize activities that can effectively address local issues. The event will bring together business, academic, government, civilian, activists, think tanks, experts and students from India and the United States to address issues of climate change and formulate plans to address environmental concerns. Results from the symposium should be able to lead the participating cities into the league of the C40 Climate Leadership Group. The awardee will ensure participation of government officials; academics; scientists; research scholars and students from prominent institutions in Kolkata, Patna and Guwahati; think tank leaders; business associations and representatives from the Diplomatic Corps. Prominent schools and colleges should also be encouraged to join the discussion electronically in Patna and Guwahati so that young people are directly involved and the movement can promote “C40 cities” and its objectives. See full application for complete description