State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Food Security Expert Lew Ziska Contributes to Landmark UN Climate Report

people picking up food from a tray
Photo: Craig Adderley/Pexels

Climate change is an ongoing threat to human health and environments—including food and water sources around the world—and the world is running out of time to change course. The assessment is in a new report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) featuring the expertise of leading scientists.

Lewis Ziska, associate professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, was a member of a working group of reviewers who contributed to the document. An expert in food stability and availability, Ziska contributed to a chapter that focused on diet-related mortality.

“Climate change is a threat multiplier when it comes to food security, and the most vulnerable in the global population — the young and the old — are especially at risk in regard to supply, nutritional quality, and food safety,” noted Ziska.

Read more about the report and its findings. 

Photo of the Earth from space with the text "Lamont at AGU25" on top.

AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More

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