Personal Statement for MSc Environmental Economics & Climate Change@LSE

Hi all

The application requires the PS to be of 1000-1500 words. Any suggestions and corrections to the below would be highly appreciated.

Thanks for your time.

PS: Its very urgent!

Statement of Purpose

Climate change is a farce! This is what the world at large believed in until ten years back, now the tables have turned to the adage of "Climate change is a fact". My perspective on the matter has transformed to say the least, starting from muted concern some years back to outright alarm today; my point of view was further reinforced during my Research Fellowship on "Assessing the climate change vulnerability of the districts of India" at the *** Institute, Delhi, India.

My undergrad in environmental engineering exposed me to the reality of what actually was at stake. What made my insatiable mind really delighted was the interdisciplinary nature of this course, wherein my subjects ranged from waste water engineering design to economics. In my second year my academic interests had me searching for an appropriate platform to enhance my technical skills, which precipitated in my summer internship in the Climate Change Division of *** Corp, India. As an intern there I was involved in the company's initiative of "Greening of Delhi Schools" where I estimated the potential for introducing energy efficiency measures in the government schools of the Delhi city. By extensive surveys which entailed the research I became aware of the fact that tackling climate change can only be affected by employing a bottom to top approach.

I focused next on the concept of carbon footprint analysis. Being associated with the *** Corp, India as a volunteer I synthesized for them a research report on the Carbon footprint of the "Indian Household", which was later used by *** for their Annual Climate Report. I was highly encouraged when my work was applauded by the Former American Vice President Mr Al Gore via a written letter of appreciation.

Attempting to apply the ideas gained through the above experience, I along with my colleagues at college founded the "Climate Solutions Initiative" at our college under the aegis of the university Vice Chancellor. Our first mission was to try and estimate the carbon footprint of our vast campus of 300 acres which housed around 5000 students and staff. The following two month exercise saw us developing survey questionnaires in order to ascertain the daily routine and energy usage of the students and faculty. The carbon footprint estimation was carried out in accordance with the GHG protocol and IPCC emission factors. The project was very successful and highly applauded by the students and faculty and made our college among the first in India to estimate and analyze their campus footprint.

The exposure to Clean Development Mechanism projects during my research at *** motivated me to delve deeper into this concept which found huge application in the Indian context. My winter internship with *** Corp followed thereafter.

There I was the team member of the design team for a 1.C Category Biomass based Heat Generation CDM Project. From analyzing biomass feedstock calorific values for estimating the CDM potential to calculating the corresponding emission reductions, I had a full blown hands-on experience of what a CDM project is all about. Various economic components of Return on Investment (ROI) and IRR (Initial Rate of Return) were also to be estimated by me for the project. The most challenging yet interesting part was to establish the factor of "Additionality" for this Dubai based project. Making sense of unprocessed readings and observations and to convert them into real world emission reductions and carbon credits was an enriching experience for me.

In order to affect any response from the corporate world to aid in climate change mitigation, they need to see the profit in it for themselves first. The solution for this I observe lies in Corporate Carbon Footprint Estimation and Corporate Social Responsibility. My next assignment at *** Corp saw me developing for the company an Industry Training Module for Carbon Footprint Analysis. My work encompassed researching individual industries to ascertain the potential and scope of introducing sustainability at the corporate level for "Green Knowledge" dissemination.

After getting to know in detail what exactly was CDM, Kyoto Protocol, carbon footprint analysis was all about, my focus shifted to the scientific side of environmental change sciences. I was selected as a part of an eclectic group of Research Fellows at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India. My research was based in the Centre for Atmospheric Sciences at IIT, Delhi. The research area was to ascertain the future climate change scenario of India.

I was among the 60 Research Fellows selected nationally for the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi's Fellowship Programme 2010. During my research fellowship not only did I gain an insight into the environmental impacts of future climate change but also the economic repercussions a runaway climate change scenario could cause in the vast and the varied expanse of India. I worked on analyzing the concepts of vulnerability, adaptive capacity and sensitivity of the individual districts from an economic and climatic standpoint. The research made me aware of the grave double whammy eventuality of an area being highly susceptible to climate change as well highly prone to globalization threats. By the end of the fellowship I had developed a keen and scientifically inquisitive thought process.

My current research project is based in *** Corp. I'm working as a team member for *** Corp's Urban Climate Project wherein we try to estimate the scope of introducing sustainability at the district and the city level in order to better equip the cities to combat future climate change. The research focuses on measures like green building norms, hybrid renewable energy initiatives and water recycling. The unique method of introducing a roof top hybrid solar cum wind energy generator for the city's main bus stand is a concept our team is working on, and seems to be highly promising in terms of being replicated in other major South Asian cities as well.

My technical paper on the topic of "Energy, Economy and Environment" was selected nationally for presentation at the Indian Institute of Industrial Engineering's (IIIE) 52nd National Convention 2010. While researching for this paper I found an intrinsic truth in the linking statement of the three "E's". This tripartite system of "Energy, Economy and Environment" is where the future lies. Placing any one of the factors above the other could easily lead to anywhere between an environmental catastrophe, global energy crisis to a widespread economic downturn.

I've always relished the opportunity to work on fast paced, hands on projects where I can observe my work having the potency to affect our future lives on this planet. My research experience and internships have been a very fulfilling experience in this regard. The work that I have been involved makes me feel invigorated and alive in the sense that I am working to make our planet a better place to live in and also

In the near future I aspire to work for an international organization in the area of climate change economics and mitigation, thereby applying my graduate experience and skill set to implement concrete action at a much larger scale.

In my graduate study I aspire to study the same interrelation of the three E's at a global level. During my research interns I found wide application of economic analysis of demographic data, statistics, and social behavioral patterns coupled along with first hand exposure to real time climate change mitigation sciences as a Research Fellow.

My very motivation of applying to the said course was the highly interdisciplinary nature of study environment and course content at LSE. The association of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment with the course also provides an exceptional scope of cutting edge research in this field. I also strive to apply for the LSE's scholarship programme to fund my graduate study at LSE, so that I can hone my perspective, skills and mind to affect change in the future.

Thus the said course of Environmental Economics and Climate Change at LSE aligns to a very high degree to my future career aspirations and goals and is a perfect match for my graduate study aspirations.

Lastly I would like to thank the admission committee for going through my personal statement and sincerely hope to be studying at LSE next fall.

Well, the beginning is a bit mistimed, since as of late the skeptics have had the last see-saw about the global warming crisis being fabricated and politicized to benefit politicians. That is, at least here in the states, the relative atmosphere (pun) with respect to climate change is the urgency that has waned over the last several years; it went from the topic on the top of the things to address, to now where you might not even hear about it for long periods.

I can't review your whole statement, though I want to.

My advice is to be cognizant of the dynamic, cause for alarm type of evidence, in the remote analysis of icecaps and other such ground and natural developments, and put it in the proper perspective opposite your line of duty to analyze synthetic emissions and hammer away at the numbers in your projections that are more detached and mathematical/theoretical. So, it appears to be at odds with your dire tone, that you are working on a less profound, heterogeneous component of the climate change concern. That is, to put it bluntly, you can't have witnessed that much to make your mind do a u-turn, since the nature of your work is an analysis of long extant things, and the phenomenon that would compel you to take a different route, for this cause, really is not feasible, since you don't witness things, but work with data that is the same no matter if you become aware of it or didn't.

What I'm saying is, somebody could have merely told you about the facts and figures and educated you on the situation. So, the tone is asynchronous with the circumstances we are imagining.

ok thanks a lot, I need to follow a more mellowed down approach at the beginning.

Please do try and review the rest too.

She gets up every morning at the crack of dawn to fetch water from the dilapidated well nearby; her husband has had a poor yield this time around and has fallen prey to competition from the neighboring areas. Food is scarce, water is a sheer luxury. All this after the government had a dam constructed for their "future well being". The snooze button on climate change has finally malfunctioned, waking the world from its languor. Yes, the polar ice caps may not disappear by 2050, but surely something dearer could easily. The climate is changing with manifestations ranging from marauding cyclones and killer heat waves to erratic rains and poor crop yields. The cynicism and suspicion surrounding this topic may drift on for some time but the harsh truth won't change, we have to change stop this change.

Please review for an opening paragraph of PS

...every morning at the crack of dawn to...---I think it is too much of a cliche...
It would be better to just write this:
every morning at dawn to...----------Do yoiu agree that is sounds more powerful this way? A cliche makes writing less powerful.

Let's also get rid of "yes"
Yes The polar ice caps may not disappear by 2050, but surely something dearer (dearer? How about this:... but surely we are in danger of experiencing a change that is even worse)

The cynicism and suspicion surrounding this topic may drift on for some time, but the harsh truth won't prevent the change. We have to change stop prevent this change.

thanks for the inputs, what do you think of the rest?

It's good to ask around... give some help to other essayists and link them to your thread so you can get multiple perspectives! :-)