State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Poverty / Development39

  • An African Green Revolution: Can the Continent Become Agriculturally Self-Sufficient?

    An African Green Revolution: Can the Continent Become Agriculturally Self-Sufficient?

    What will it take for Africa to feed itself? Can the continent double its current crop yields and provide food not only for itself, but for export to outside markets? How can African farmers become as productive as their global peers? These and other questions were presented on October 11 by former UN Secretary-General Kofi…

  • A Year of Progress Toward a Sustainable Earth

    A Year of Progress Toward a Sustainable Earth

    The Earth Institute’s annual donor report is now available in an interactive digital format. We remain committed to finding extraordinary solutions to unprecedented world challenges, and this report highlights some of our innovative projects in research, policy and education, and the partnerships that are helping to support them.

  • 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…

  • Haiti Regeneration Initiative Team Resumes Research

    Haiti Regeneration Initiative Team Resumes Research

    Post-earth quake, the project team for the Haiti Regeneration Initiative (HRI) resumes fieldwork in the Haitian countryside. Program coordinator Alex Fischer is interviewed.

  • 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.

  • Another Superfund Site in New York City: Newtown Creek to Get a Makeover

    Another Superfund Site in New York City: Newtown Creek to Get a Makeover

    The March designation of the Gowanus Canal in New York City as a SuperFund clean up site was an important step forward, and is now being followed by another leap: on Monday Newtown Creek, which runs between Queens and Brooklyn received the same designation.

  • $3.8 Million Raised for Millennium Cities Initiative

    The Earth Institute successfully completed a $1.9 million landmark challenge grant, awarded by the Tides Foundation, to benefit the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI). Because of the Tides challenge and our generous donors, a total of $3.8 million has been raised to support the project’s work to help targeted mid-sized cities across sub-Saharan Africa promote sustainable…

  • The Earth Institute Raises $3.8 Million to Support the Millennium Cities Initiative

    The Earth Institute Raises $3.8 Million to Support the Millennium Cities Initiative

    The Earth Institute successfully completed a $1.9 million landmark challenge grant, awarded by the Tides Foundation, to benefit the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI). Because of the Tides challenge and our generous donors, a total of $3.8 million has been raised to support the project’s work to help targeted mid-sized cities across sub-Saharan Africa promote sustainable…

Composite banner with modern building at night and portrait of Dean Alexis Abramson that reads "Science for the Planet"

By studying thousands of buildings and analyzing their electricity use, Columbia Climate School Dean Alexis Abramson has been able to uncover ways to significantly cut energy consumption and emissions. Watch the Video: “Engineering a Cooler Future Through Smarter Buildings

  • An African Green Revolution: Can the Continent Become Agriculturally Self-Sufficient?

    An African Green Revolution: Can the Continent Become Agriculturally Self-Sufficient?

    What will it take for Africa to feed itself? Can the continent double its current crop yields and provide food not only for itself, but for export to outside markets? How can African farmers become as productive as their global peers? These and other questions were presented on October 11 by former UN Secretary-General Kofi…

  • A Year of Progress Toward a Sustainable Earth

    A Year of Progress Toward a Sustainable Earth

    The Earth Institute’s annual donor report is now available in an interactive digital format. We remain committed to finding extraordinary solutions to unprecedented world challenges, and this report highlights some of our innovative projects in research, policy and education, and the partnerships that are helping to support them.

  • 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…

  • Haiti Regeneration Initiative Team Resumes Research

    Haiti Regeneration Initiative Team Resumes Research

    Post-earth quake, the project team for the Haiti Regeneration Initiative (HRI) resumes fieldwork in the Haitian countryside. Program coordinator Alex Fischer is interviewed.

  • 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.

  • Another Superfund Site in New York City: Newtown Creek to Get a Makeover

    Another Superfund Site in New York City: Newtown Creek to Get a Makeover

    The March designation of the Gowanus Canal in New York City as a SuperFund clean up site was an important step forward, and is now being followed by another leap: on Monday Newtown Creek, which runs between Queens and Brooklyn received the same designation.

  • $3.8 Million Raised for Millennium Cities Initiative

    The Earth Institute successfully completed a $1.9 million landmark challenge grant, awarded by the Tides Foundation, to benefit the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI). Because of the Tides challenge and our generous donors, a total of $3.8 million has been raised to support the project’s work to help targeted mid-sized cities across sub-Saharan Africa promote sustainable…

  • The Earth Institute Raises $3.8 Million to Support the Millennium Cities Initiative

    The Earth Institute Raises $3.8 Million to Support the Millennium Cities Initiative

    The Earth Institute successfully completed a $1.9 million landmark challenge grant, awarded by the Tides Foundation, to benefit the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI). Because of the Tides challenge and our generous donors, a total of $3.8 million has been raised to support the project’s work to help targeted mid-sized cities across sub-Saharan Africa promote sustainable…