Research Intern

Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), New Delhi

Research Intern - Industrial Sustainability and Competitiveness (Carbon Intensity)

Terms of Reference

At CEEW, we are deliberate about what we stand for (and what we don’t stand for) as an employer. So, if the below description strikes a chord, we would love to hear from you

**We are proud to build careers in public policy and social impact.**
- We offer strong visionary leadership - with emphasis on research and impact at scale
- We actively promote leadership by initiative
- We celebrate talent and ambition
- You will be surrounded by smart ambitious people who will challenge you and help you grow
- You will learn faster than your peers in other organisations
- Curiosity and irreverence, as well as responsibility, come together at CEEW
- You will get above-market remuneration
- We provide a safe space for all
- At CEEW, your life is your example for others

**Designation offered**

Research Intern - Carbon Intensity

**Reporting to**

Senior Programme Lead / Research Analyst

**Location**

New Delhi

**Duration**

3-6 months, extendable upon review

**Purpose**

The Indian manufacturing industry is at a critical crossroad with headwinds from global competition now being compounded with demand destruction and the imperative to address climate change. The Government of India’s clarion call for an Aatma Nirbhar Bharat needs the manufacturing sector to play a pivotal role. Yet, Indian industry lacks a roadmap to achieve this self-sufficiency and resilience in manufacturing systems while addressing sustainability issues. A critical issue is low efficiency of operations and use of high carbon fuels such as coal and furnace oil. The direct consequence of this is higher carbon footprint of products, vulnerability to border carbon tax in existing export markets, lower competitiveness in new markets with carbon tax, and overall lack of progress on the home front in terms of reducing national emissions in absolute measure.
There is an increasing clamour in the European Union (EU) to not only intensify the targets to reduce GHG emissions, but to partly achieve this through a border carbon tax. The UK despite leaving the EU has committed to go net zero on GHG emissions by 2050 and may well follow the EU way on border carbon tax to keep itself aligned. The U.S. elections this November have brought in a new president committed to the climate change cause and provide critical support for climate change action globally. All these factors will be headwinds to the Indian exporters to these markets. Finally, the Indian government’s announcements to support increased coal mining is a step backwards for the GHG reductions agenda. It is important at this stage to understand the GHG footprint of fuels, power, and industrial output to evaluation options to decarbonise in the Indian context.
There is a need to quantify the GHG footprint of fuels and power into the economy and their resultant impact on GHG footprint of product classes, such as steel, aluminium, automobiles, etc. This can be subsequently used to analyse the impact of internal carbon price or carbon tax on different sectors of the industry. Finally, this analysis can be used to identify various decarbonisation strategies and policies.
- Preparing a comprehensive list of current policies and programmes on carbon pricing recently introduced (or planned) by economies across the globe
- Creating a code for input-output linkages of different industry sub-sectors using our in-house data set on Python
- Reviewing secondary sources to fill data gaps in our assessment
- Assisting in other miscellaneous analysis on the input-output matrix for the manufacturing sector in India

**Job Duties and Responsibilities**

**Research**
- To conduct both traditional and online secondary research using various external sources including international data sets
- Collecting information and preparing databases on resource mapping, input-output linkages etc.
- Create a code for input-output linkages on Python for assessment
- Conduct literature review, discussion with prominent researchers in this area, and carry field visits (if needed)
- Discuss theoretical approaches to understand an analyse the identified research outcomes
- Map key stakeholders relevant in this domain and reach out to them (if needed)
- Assist team in research and outreach responsibilities
- Writing project report/issue briefs based on conducted research
- Project/programme assistance
- Assist with project implementation, including help with preparing presentations, factsheets and other communication material.
- Support efforts to use new media platforms for wide dissemination of CEEW's work and, in turn, closer engagement with the wider community.
- Participate in weekly team meetings and assist with preparing minutes.
- Accompany the other team members for meetings with other stakeholders; prepare minutes of the meetings and assist with relevant fo