State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Climate170

  • Building Consensus on Climate and Sustainability Policy

    The New York Times reported on a new international agreement that will phase out hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, a chemical that is used in refrigerators and air conditioners that is a powerful greenhouse gas. The irony is that HFCs were developed to replace chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, chemicals that caused a hole in our atmosphere’s ozone layer…

  • No Free Passes: Making Renewable Energy Responsible

    No Free Passes: Making Renewable Energy Responsible

    As the world rushes to invest in clean energy, the potential impacts of these projects on the rights of local individuals and communities need to be properly addressed.

  • Leaving Fossil Fuels in the Ground: Who, What and When?

    Leaving Fossil Fuels in the Ground: Who, What and When?

    In order to promote a broader conversation on the issue of equity and stranded assets, Oxfam recently released a report discussing whether there is a reasonable case to be made that developing countries should get preferential treatment so that they bear less of the burden when it comes to having their assets stranded.

  • What Happens to Ecosystems When Antarctica’s Ice Melts?

    What Happens to Ecosystems When Antarctica’s Ice Melts?

    A special section in the October issue of BioScience featuring research by Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientists examines the effects of intense melting on two Antarctic ecosystems, tracking impacts all the way from microbial food webs to shifting penguin populations.

  • Stranding Equitably in the Current Market and Geopolitical Context

    Stranding Equitably in the Current Market and Geopolitical Context

    The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment’s conference of early November will consider, notably, how world production of oil and gas could be significantly reduced in manners protecting the interests of lower-income producing countries, given that staying on carbon budget will require leaving two thirds of our fossil fuel reserves unburnt.

  • At the Jersey Shore, Signs of a Comet, and a Climate Crisis

    Do 55-Million-Year-Old Deposits Hint at Cause of an Abrupt Change?

  • Shareholders Turn Up the Heat on Climate Change

    Shareholders Turn Up the Heat on Climate Change

    2016 was a hot year for climate change shareholder resolutions hitting the boardrooms of oil and gas companies. Although more familiar climate news headlines have carried calls to “keep it in the ground” and divest investment portfolios from fossil fuels, a patient strategy has been quietly gaining momentum: shareholder engagement on climate change.

  • Ancient Leaves Link Loss of Antarctic Ice to a CO2 Spike

    Ancient Leaves Link Loss of Antarctic Ice to a CO2 Spike

    Twenty-three million years ago, the Antarctic Ice Sheet began to shrink, going from an expanse larger than today’s to one about half its modern size. Ancient fossilized leaves retrieved from a lake bed in New Zealand now show for the first time that carbon dioxide levels increased dramatically over a relatively short period of time…

  • Protecting Indigenous Land Rights Makes Good Economic Sense

    Protecting Indigenous Land Rights Makes Good Economic Sense

    Indigenous peoples and other communities hold and manage 50 to 65 percent of the world’s land, yet governments recognize only 10 percent as legally belonging to these groups, with another 8 percent designated by governments for communities. That’s bad economic policy.

Blue banner with kids and Earth photos. Text: "Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Open House, Saturday, October 17, 2026, 10am-4pm.

On Saturday, October 17, 2026 from 10am to 4pm, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Open House—our biggest, best science fun and discovery event of the year—will take place on our beautiful campus in Palisades, NY. Mark your calendar and join us for this free, family-friendly celebration of science! RSVP Today!

  • Building Consensus on Climate and Sustainability Policy

    The New York Times reported on a new international agreement that will phase out hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, a chemical that is used in refrigerators and air conditioners that is a powerful greenhouse gas. The irony is that HFCs were developed to replace chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, chemicals that caused a hole in our atmosphere’s ozone layer…

  • No Free Passes: Making Renewable Energy Responsible

    No Free Passes: Making Renewable Energy Responsible

    As the world rushes to invest in clean energy, the potential impacts of these projects on the rights of local individuals and communities need to be properly addressed.

  • Leaving Fossil Fuels in the Ground: Who, What and When?

    Leaving Fossil Fuels in the Ground: Who, What and When?

    In order to promote a broader conversation on the issue of equity and stranded assets, Oxfam recently released a report discussing whether there is a reasonable case to be made that developing countries should get preferential treatment so that they bear less of the burden when it comes to having their assets stranded.

  • What Happens to Ecosystems When Antarctica’s Ice Melts?

    What Happens to Ecosystems When Antarctica’s Ice Melts?

    A special section in the October issue of BioScience featuring research by Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory scientists examines the effects of intense melting on two Antarctic ecosystems, tracking impacts all the way from microbial food webs to shifting penguin populations.

  • Stranding Equitably in the Current Market and Geopolitical Context

    Stranding Equitably in the Current Market and Geopolitical Context

    The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment’s conference of early November will consider, notably, how world production of oil and gas could be significantly reduced in manners protecting the interests of lower-income producing countries, given that staying on carbon budget will require leaving two thirds of our fossil fuel reserves unburnt.

  • At the Jersey Shore, Signs of a Comet, and a Climate Crisis

    Do 55-Million-Year-Old Deposits Hint at Cause of an Abrupt Change?

  • Shareholders Turn Up the Heat on Climate Change

    Shareholders Turn Up the Heat on Climate Change

    2016 was a hot year for climate change shareholder resolutions hitting the boardrooms of oil and gas companies. Although more familiar climate news headlines have carried calls to “keep it in the ground” and divest investment portfolios from fossil fuels, a patient strategy has been quietly gaining momentum: shareholder engagement on climate change.

  • Ancient Leaves Link Loss of Antarctic Ice to a CO2 Spike

    Ancient Leaves Link Loss of Antarctic Ice to a CO2 Spike

    Twenty-three million years ago, the Antarctic Ice Sheet began to shrink, going from an expanse larger than today’s to one about half its modern size. Ancient fossilized leaves retrieved from a lake bed in New Zealand now show for the first time that carbon dioxide levels increased dramatically over a relatively short period of time…

  • Protecting Indigenous Land Rights Makes Good Economic Sense

    Protecting Indigenous Land Rights Makes Good Economic Sense

    Indigenous peoples and other communities hold and manage 50 to 65 percent of the world’s land, yet governments recognize only 10 percent as legally belonging to these groups, with another 8 percent designated by governments for communities. That’s bad economic policy.