State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Climate270

  • IRI Scientist Wins NSF CAREER Award

    IRI Scientist Wins NSF CAREER Award

    Alessandra Giannini, a research scientist at the IRI, has been awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER award to advance our understanding of uncertainty in climate model projections in the African Sahel and other semi-arid regions of the world.

  • Denmark’s New Mark: Fossil-free by 2050

    Denmark’s New Mark: Fossil-free by 2050

    Last Monday, October 11th, Columbia University’s Earth Institute and the Consulate General of Denmark co-hosted “The Climate Challenge: Revitalizing the Debate”. The daylong symposium included three panel sessions, in which experts from academia, the private sector, government and non-governmental organizations discussed the effects and implications of global climate change as well as steps –both taken…

  • Deutsche Bank and Earth Institute Debunk Climate Skeptics

    To address global warming skeptics, the Earth Institute’s Columbia Climate Center authored a report in partnership with Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors to examine many of the claims and counter-claims against climate change science. The report concludes that despite the noise generated by misinformation, a vast body of scientific research affirms that human-made climate change…

  • Eli Kintisch on Geoengineering and ‘Jumping the Shark’

    Eli Kintisch on Geoengineering and ‘Jumping the Shark’

    By Elizabeth Robinson As little as five years ago, geoengineering was fringe science. But now, with CO2 concentrations still rising in spite of our knowledge of the consequences, geoengineering is increasingly viewed as an option for coping with the possibility of catastrophic climate change. On Friday, September 24th, the Columbia Climate Center hosted an event…

  • Peruvians Fight for Their Right to Water

    Peruvians Fight for Their Right to Water

    On September 17, one man was killed and 18 others injured when police attempted to break up demonstrators protesting an irrigation project recently approved by the Peruvian government.

  • Climate News Roundup: Weeks of 9/20 and 9/27

    Climate News Roundup: Weeks of 9/20 and 9/27

    Deep in Ecuador’s rainforest, a plan to forego an oil bonanza, Yale 360 An ambitious plan to prevent drilling for oil in Ecuador’s Yasuni National Park would facilitate payments from the international community to the government of Ecuador. The park is rich in biodiversity, and is the home of several remote groups of indigenous peoples.…

  • Report: State of Climate Prediction

    Report: State of Climate Prediction

    The U.S. National Research Council recently published a report on the state of medium-term climate prediction and predictability. IRI’s Lisa Goddard, who was a member of the panel that wrote the report, elaborates on some of its key points and recommendations.

  • Climate News Roundup – Week of 9/13

    Climate News Roundup – Week of 9/13

    Germany Extends Nuclear Plants’ Life, NY Times, Sept. 13 Germany has signaled its intent to extend the life span of the country’s 17 nuclear power plants. The decision, which stands in contrast to the country’s historic resistance to nuclear power, comes as Merkel’s government pushes for more renewable energy sources in Germany’s energy mix. US…

  • Cyprus: A Case Study in Water Challenges

    One tends to think of islands as wet places (surrounded as they are by water) but the island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean sea belies that characterization. Among many childhood memories I have of that place, some of the most vivid are of the wide-open, piercing blue of cloudless skies and the sun-scorched, dusty…

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!

  • IRI Scientist Wins NSF CAREER Award

    IRI Scientist Wins NSF CAREER Award

    Alessandra Giannini, a research scientist at the IRI, has been awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER award to advance our understanding of uncertainty in climate model projections in the African Sahel and other semi-arid regions of the world.

  • Denmark’s New Mark: Fossil-free by 2050

    Denmark’s New Mark: Fossil-free by 2050

    Last Monday, October 11th, Columbia University’s Earth Institute and the Consulate General of Denmark co-hosted “The Climate Challenge: Revitalizing the Debate”. The daylong symposium included three panel sessions, in which experts from academia, the private sector, government and non-governmental organizations discussed the effects and implications of global climate change as well as steps –both taken…

  • Deutsche Bank and Earth Institute Debunk Climate Skeptics

    To address global warming skeptics, the Earth Institute’s Columbia Climate Center authored a report in partnership with Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors to examine many of the claims and counter-claims against climate change science. The report concludes that despite the noise generated by misinformation, a vast body of scientific research affirms that human-made climate change…

  • Eli Kintisch on Geoengineering and ‘Jumping the Shark’

    Eli Kintisch on Geoengineering and ‘Jumping the Shark’

    By Elizabeth Robinson As little as five years ago, geoengineering was fringe science. But now, with CO2 concentrations still rising in spite of our knowledge of the consequences, geoengineering is increasingly viewed as an option for coping with the possibility of catastrophic climate change. On Friday, September 24th, the Columbia Climate Center hosted an event…

  • Peruvians Fight for Their Right to Water

    Peruvians Fight for Their Right to Water

    On September 17, one man was killed and 18 others injured when police attempted to break up demonstrators protesting an irrigation project recently approved by the Peruvian government.

  • Climate News Roundup: Weeks of 9/20 and 9/27

    Climate News Roundup: Weeks of 9/20 and 9/27

    Deep in Ecuador’s rainforest, a plan to forego an oil bonanza, Yale 360 An ambitious plan to prevent drilling for oil in Ecuador’s Yasuni National Park would facilitate payments from the international community to the government of Ecuador. The park is rich in biodiversity, and is the home of several remote groups of indigenous peoples.…

  • Report: State of Climate Prediction

    Report: State of Climate Prediction

    The U.S. National Research Council recently published a report on the state of medium-term climate prediction and predictability. IRI’s Lisa Goddard, who was a member of the panel that wrote the report, elaborates on some of its key points and recommendations.

  • Climate News Roundup – Week of 9/13

    Climate News Roundup – Week of 9/13

    Germany Extends Nuclear Plants’ Life, NY Times, Sept. 13 Germany has signaled its intent to extend the life span of the country’s 17 nuclear power plants. The decision, which stands in contrast to the country’s historic resistance to nuclear power, comes as Merkel’s government pushes for more renewable energy sources in Germany’s energy mix. US…

  • Cyprus: A Case Study in Water Challenges

    One tends to think of islands as wet places (surrounded as they are by water) but the island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean sea belies that characterization. Among many childhood memories I have of that place, some of the most vivid are of the wide-open, piercing blue of cloudless skies and the sun-scorched, dusty…