State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Science for the Planet: Financing Sustainable Development

Lisa Sachs, director of the Columbia Climate School’s Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), is a lawyer who specializes in how public and private investment can help achieve environmental, social and economic goals. She and her team help governments, policymakers and the financial sector create new policies and practices to boost investments in sustainable development, particularly in developing countries.

“When most people think about sustainable investment, they think about individual corporate pledges or net-zero commitments,” says Sachs. “But in practice, they are both impractical and inadequate in the absence of a more coherent framework for sectoral transformations.”

Real progress requires collaborative investment planning, whether to decarbonize industry or transform food systems.

CCSI supports this work through evidence-based research that drives practical solutions and coordinated regional and sectoral transitions.

Learn more about Sachs and her work on climate finance:

Columbia Climate School Launches First M.S. in Climate Finance Program in the United States


This video is part of the ongoing Science for the Planet explainer series about how Columbia Climate School scientists and scholars are trying to understand the effects of climate change and helping to contribute solutions.

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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