State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Climate167

  • Trade Deals and the Paris Climate Agreement

    Trade Deals and the Paris Climate Agreement

    With the approval of the Paris Climate Agreement comes a key question: Do our trade and investment agreements—current and proposed—create the space, send the right signals, and clear the path for the U.S. and other countries to meet their Paris commitments?

  • Rising Temperatures Load the Dice for Megadrought Risk

    Rising Temperatures Load the Dice for Megadrought Risk

    As the American Southwest grows hotter, the risk of severe, long-lasting megadroughts rises, passing 90 percent this century if greenhouse gas emissions continue at their current pace, a new study from scientists at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory says. Aggressively reducing emissions can cut that risk.

  • Mapping Risks and Building Resilience, from Plot to Plate

    Mapping Risks and Building Resilience, from Plot to Plate

    Michael Puma, an associate research scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and a Center for Climate and Life Fellow, works to improve understanding of the fragility of the global food system and how it might respond to major disruptions.

  • NYC’s Heat Waves: A Harbinger of Things to Come?

    NYC’s Heat Waves: A Harbinger of Things to Come?

    As global temperatures rise and heat records are broken, many wonder if New York City’s heat waves this summer were a result of climate change, and if we will experience more of them in the future.

  • An Admiral Assesses Climate Change

    An Admiral Assesses Climate Change

    Columbia University’s Initiative on Extreme Weather and Climate hosted its biggest seminar to date. David Titley presented a talk entitled Climate Risk and National Security: People not Polar Bears. Titley, a retired U.S. rear admiral and now a professor of meteorology at Pennsylvania State University, brought humor to a serious topic and how it affects…

  • Pressure Mounts for Developing Countries to Leave Fossil Fuels in the Ground

    Pressure Mounts for Developing Countries to Leave Fossil Fuels in the Ground

    Calls are intensifying to phase out fossil fuels, and that is now beginning to occur in many developed countries. This shift will have profound implications for the developing world, which has vast untapped fossil fuel resources, but may be unable to realize their value.

  • Land, Resource Investments and Climate Change: 3 Key Takeaways

    Land, Resource Investments and Climate Change: 3 Key Takeaways

    Any discussion on climate change and sustainable investment in natural resources must grapple with land—a complicated yet crucial component of the search for equitable climate change solutions.

  • From Climate Science to Climate Service

    From Climate Science to Climate Service

    What makes for good climate services? A new commentary in the journal Science outlines three considerations.

  • Flaring Gas: How Not to Waste a Valuable Resource

    Flaring Gas: How Not to Waste a Valuable Resource

    Every year, oil fields around the globe burn, or “flare,” an estimated 3.5 percent of the world’s natural gas supply. The gas is produced alongside oil and must be disposed of during the production process. Eliminating flaring would reduce CO2 emissions by as much as removing 77 million cars from the road. Moreover, the flaring…

Banner with images representing environmental issues and text "You Asked: Our Scientists and Experts Answer Your Burning Questions."

You Asked invites you to share your most pressing questions about climate, science, and sustainability. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School experts will respond with clear, evidence-based answers. Pose your questions and story ideas!

  • Trade Deals and the Paris Climate Agreement

    Trade Deals and the Paris Climate Agreement

    With the approval of the Paris Climate Agreement comes a key question: Do our trade and investment agreements—current and proposed—create the space, send the right signals, and clear the path for the U.S. and other countries to meet their Paris commitments?

  • Rising Temperatures Load the Dice for Megadrought Risk

    Rising Temperatures Load the Dice for Megadrought Risk

    As the American Southwest grows hotter, the risk of severe, long-lasting megadroughts rises, passing 90 percent this century if greenhouse gas emissions continue at their current pace, a new study from scientists at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory says. Aggressively reducing emissions can cut that risk.

  • Mapping Risks and Building Resilience, from Plot to Plate

    Mapping Risks and Building Resilience, from Plot to Plate

    Michael Puma, an associate research scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and a Center for Climate and Life Fellow, works to improve understanding of the fragility of the global food system and how it might respond to major disruptions.

  • NYC’s Heat Waves: A Harbinger of Things to Come?

    NYC’s Heat Waves: A Harbinger of Things to Come?

    As global temperatures rise and heat records are broken, many wonder if New York City’s heat waves this summer were a result of climate change, and if we will experience more of them in the future.

  • An Admiral Assesses Climate Change

    An Admiral Assesses Climate Change

    Columbia University’s Initiative on Extreme Weather and Climate hosted its biggest seminar to date. David Titley presented a talk entitled Climate Risk and National Security: People not Polar Bears. Titley, a retired U.S. rear admiral and now a professor of meteorology at Pennsylvania State University, brought humor to a serious topic and how it affects…

  • Pressure Mounts for Developing Countries to Leave Fossil Fuels in the Ground

    Pressure Mounts for Developing Countries to Leave Fossil Fuels in the Ground

    Calls are intensifying to phase out fossil fuels, and that is now beginning to occur in many developed countries. This shift will have profound implications for the developing world, which has vast untapped fossil fuel resources, but may be unable to realize their value.

  • Land, Resource Investments and Climate Change: 3 Key Takeaways

    Land, Resource Investments and Climate Change: 3 Key Takeaways

    Any discussion on climate change and sustainable investment in natural resources must grapple with land—a complicated yet crucial component of the search for equitable climate change solutions.

  • From Climate Science to Climate Service

    From Climate Science to Climate Service

    What makes for good climate services? A new commentary in the journal Science outlines three considerations.

  • Flaring Gas: How Not to Waste a Valuable Resource

    Flaring Gas: How Not to Waste a Valuable Resource

    Every year, oil fields around the globe burn, or “flare,” an estimated 3.5 percent of the world’s natural gas supply. The gas is produced alongside oil and must be disposed of during the production process. Eliminating flaring would reduce CO2 emissions by as much as removing 77 million cars from the road. Moreover, the flaring…