Even as the threat of climate change and global warming looms over the citizens of the planet, an expedition plans to show that humans can survive on renewable energy in one of the most hostile places on the planet - the South Pole.
The expedition, consists of 10 people, who were selected by Sir Robert Swan, the first person on the planet to walk to both the poles.
Among these 10 people, a chartered accountant from Hyderabad will represent India and carry the Indian flag to the South Pole.
A crowdfunding campaign has also been started for Sunil Kumar, a former Amazon employee, who has been bitten by the travel bug.
"I will be walking 100 kilometres for 10 days in Antarctica, battling temperatures ranging from -40 C to -50 C, and facing winds of 200 miles/hour, but surviving completely on solar, wind and bio fuels. Only 10 countries are provided an opportunity in this historic expedition and I am proud that India got an invite and I got an opportunity to represent our nation," Sunil writes.
Speaking to The News Minute, 27-year-old Sunil Kumar is ecstatic.
In fact, Sunil quips that he didn't even know that people could visit Antarctica until a few years ago.
"In 2011, I attended the 'Jagriti Yatra', where I met a friend, who told me that we could travel to Antarctica. That's when I even realised," Sunil says, as he breaks out into a laugh.
Jagriti Yatra is a two-week long train journey across the length and breadth of the country.
Sunil was working with Amazon as a Site Financial Controller in Hyderabad, but has since quit his job to work on the expedition, and also raise funds.
The motto of the expedition is, "If renewable power works in the world’s harshest place ‘Antarctica’, it will work anywhere."
This is also not Sunil's first time to Antarctica.
"I went there in 2015 as part of the International Antarctic Expedition, but this will be my first time, going all the way to the south pole," he says.
Speaking about the 2015 expedition, Sunil says, "I never thought that I would even get selected. I'm not even an avid traveller or anything. I just sent in my name for the application, and I was approved. I couldn't believe it."
It was there that Sunil met Robert Swan for the first time.
As far as the cost of the expedition is concerned, Sunil needs to raise a little over Rs 90 lakh, for his journey in January 2018.
He is asking Indians to contribute just Rs 100 - Rs 1 for every kilometre he will walk.
Lok Satta party founder Jayaprakash Narayan has extended support to Sunil, along with Malkajgiri MP Malla Reddy, with each of them donating Rs 100 to the cause.
Already, Sunil has started cycling and exercising, in a bid to prepare for the expedition.
When asked about what he plans to do, once he returns from the journey, Sunil says he has found purpose in the cause for renewable energy.
"When I came back after my first trip, I spoke to a few schools and students, and convinced them to switch over to renewable energy," Sunil says.
Sunil feels that there is an urgent need to educate the next generation about the effects of climate change and the need for renewable energy.
"Children are the most innovative, willing to experiment and learn. If we teach them about climate change, and get the message across to them, I'm sure that they will come up with great inventions that can change the world, while also being economically profitable at the same time" he concludes.
Watch his crowdfunding video below. Any donations for Sunil's expedition, can be done here.