SDG 13.1Climate research and innovation
UPES research tackles both sides of climate change: cutting emissions through clean energy and helping mountain communities adapt to floods, landslides and water stress.
The figures below cover UPES research publications on climate action from 2021 to 2025 (source: Scopus, October 2026).
523climate research publications, 2021–2025
11,504citations to these papers
22.0citations per paper
317journal articles and reviews
What the research covers
Number of 2021–2025 papers on each theme (a paper can appear under more than one).
| Theme | Papers |
|---|
| Emissions, air quality and greenhouse gases | 192 |
| Clean energy and decarbonisation | 186 |
| Climate policy, economics and finance | 149 |
| Climate impacts on water, land and agriculture | 132 |
| Carbon capture, storage and utilisation | 75 |
| Climate modelling and data science | 75 |
| Climate risk, disasters and resilience | 49 |
Most cited climate work
- Biofuel production from microalgae: challenges and chances (Phytochemistry Reviews, 2023), cited 261 times.
- Biochar application for greenhouse gas mitigation, contaminants immobilization and soil fertility enhancement: A state-of-the-art review (Science of the Total Environment, 2022), cited 253 times.
- Comprehensive review on effect of dust on solar photovoltaic system and mitigation techniques (Solar Energy, 2019), cited 238 times.
- Critical review of biochemical pathways to transformation of waste and biomass into bioenergy (Bioresource Technology, 2023), cited 230 times.
- Production and modifications of biochar to engineered materials and its application for environmental sustainability: a review (Biochar, 2024), cited 185 times.
The full list of 742 publications since 2007, with links, is on the climate research publications page (also available as a spreadsheet).
Research spotlights
Batteries that work at –40°C
UPES is the first private university in India to win a DRDO-funded project. With IIT Roorkee as principal investigator and NIT Rourkela, the team aims to make batteries work at –40°C, with thermal management and smart inverters, so that microgrids keep running in places like Ladakh and Siachen.
UPES blog · Read more
Early warning for the Himalaya
A HILL project uses wireless sensor networks to track rainfall, soil moisture and ground movement in real time, so remote areas get early warning of flash floods and landslides and can plan evacuations and road closures.
UPES blog · Read more
Water security in a warming climate
With French institutions, HILL is working on water quality and availability under climate change, and is building a simple solar thermal water purifier for villages in hilly terrain.
UPES blog · Read more
Waste into clean energy
A pilot microalgae plant led by Prof Bhawna Yadav Lamba treats sewage from a nearby canal and turns the algae and sludge into bio-oil, biogas and bio-manure.
UPES blog · Read more
Climate economics, policy and law
- CEESS. The Centre for Energy, Environment and Sustainability Studies researches business and sustainable development, transport and green supply chain management, and related questions of climate and energy policy.
- Climate law. On 20–21 September 2024 the School of Law, with the Uttarakhand Forest Department and the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board, hosted an international conference on new paradigms of environmental sustainability and energy law, with representatives of 66 Indian institutes and six foreign organisations discussing climate change, renewable energy, environmental governance and climate justice.
- Wider research. UPES also works on solar photovoltaics, rural electrification, carbon capture, algae biofuels and climate-risk assessment.
Patents and intellectual property
UPES holds 2,314+ intellectual property rights, made up of 813 patents, 943 designs and 558 copyrights, with 139 granted (December 2025).
Sources and further reading
