SOP requirement for MAS in Climate Science & Policy
One more useless comment = ban.
My SOP as below
I became interested in learning more about the effects of climate change back in 2014, when I had taken up scuba diving as a hobby. My first water open dive was in Aqaba, Jordan and it was magnificent, no corals were bleached, pops of varied color across the dive site reef fish in abundance, the underwater realm was a beautiful place. With the same expectation, I went to Andaman and Nicobar Islands for my next dives and I encountered destroyed reefs, bleached corals, spartan fish life. Luckily for me, I was at Andaman and Nicobar Environment Team (ANET) base where the researchers were able to answer my rudimentary questions of the destructions of the ecosystem and in two words the answer for all my queries was "Climate Change".
I felt there was a need to further my knowledge and experience to better understand the severity of climate change. I had the opportunity to do a month-long internship with ReefWatch, a Marine Conservation outfit in India in 2017. As a part of the internship, I had decided to do a small project to understand the impact of temperature change on sea grass, wherein I tagged and observed the growth rate of a species of sea grass (Acetabularia cranulata) on the intertidal stretch and compared it to the same species that is totally submerged underwater over a period of a week. The seagrass that was totally submerged grew at a faster rate than the one in the intertidal stretch, while this got me to think in terms of the ripple effect it created on the ecosystem and upon further investigation once the area abundant with dugongs has not witnessed any in the past few years and one of the primary assumption is the availability of seagrass.
I voraciously started reading about the effects of climate change, mitigation measures and policy interventions, climate finance and so on. Seeking a wider experience, I joined the development team at Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), I was exposed to various conservation projects and I gained further understanding from the scientists of various measures of habitat restoration undertaken and its impacts of climate change. One glaring reality that was being faced was the non-usage of endemic species of tree planation drives being undertaken by the corporate sector to abate climate change effects. The resultant saplings planted grow faster but may not necessarily thrive or even survive in the geographically area. My interactions with the marine conservation team at WTI also led me to believe that while marine reserves are also a good model to negate the effects of climate change; a model which is based on participatory marine resource management is a more successful model in India where the community is largely dependent on the resources.
While in working with Wildlife Trust of India, I had to shift base from my home city of Mumbai to New Delhi. Considered as one of the most polluted cities in the world, I had the chance to witness the infamous smog which mainly arised due to slash and burn method of farming techniques adopted by farmers in the various states in India. The primary reason for the farmers to use this method is expensive labor and time taken to clear agriculture land for next cropping season. It got me thinking on policy level intervention to address the problem was there are technology available and the state governments need to incentivize the farmers to adopt technology by means of subsidy or interest free loans or even subsidize rent for marginal land owners.
Over the years, I have been following the works of two global organization World Resource Institute (WRI) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in the area of Climate Change. One approach that EDF has incorporated touted is the cap and trade program to lowering emissions is one of the areas of I would like to delve further into. My immediate goal is to work with an organization such as EDF or WRI as a Climate Change Analyst/Consultant. I would like to gain experience in Cap and Trade program as a tool for policy intervention to reduce carbon emissions. I believe my educational background in finance provides me with a foundation to understand the financial mechanism used in setting up of standards and basis for the said policies and the knowledge I gain in the CSP program will help me understand the science being the basis for it.
To progress in my chosen path towards my goal, applying for MAS in Climate Science and Policy at University of California, San Diego would provide the ideal climate for me to develop my interests in climate economics and policy analysis, and develop the knowledge base and tools required for me to effectively work with scientists, governments and stakeholders to develop credible, long-term solutions to the problems related to climate change.
I would like to focus my research efforts on cost effectiveness of Cap and trade program in California. While a general agreement amongst government NGOs and various stakeholders believe that adopting a market-based mechanism would be able to price carbon at its intrinsic value which at the lowest possible cost, I would like to focus my research with respect to the need for a market based mechanism and its susceptibility to market manipulations and it's outcomes. I have been following some of Professor Mark Jacobsen & Professor David Victor. What stood out for me was their research interests in market linked mechanism such as carbon offsets, costs of alternative environmental policy instruments and a take on carbon tax in China and USA.
It's the culmination of all these experiences and the desire to gain further knowledge I wanted to gain further theoretical knowledge in economics and policy and I enrolled myself in a post graduate course in 'Environmental Law and Policy' and a 'Graduate diploma in Economics'. The aspect of a strategic marriage of scientific research, economic analysis and policy is what drew my attention towards the program in 'Climate Science & Policy', and the interdisciplinary approach adopted to identify