State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Poverty / Development46

  • India Honors Earth Institute Economist Nirupam Bajpai for Development Work

    India has conferred the high Padma Shri award on senior Earth Institute economist Nirupam Bajpai for his service to the nation in literature and education. The president of India, the Honorable Pratibha Devisingh Patil, will give the award to Bajpai in March, in New Delhi. Padma Shri is given to Indian and foreign nationals to…

  • Mapping Poverty for Better Development Planning

    This remarkable map of Latin America portrays infant mortality rates, a widely used proxy measure of poverty. It demonstrates clearly that although Latin America has generally low infant mortality rates, overall poverty is very unevenly distributed throughout the region. Moreover, the relationship between this pattern of human well-being and broader geographic constraints is also clear.…

  • Gates Foundation Awards $15 Million to Support Science-Based Effort to End Poverty in Africa

    Grant helps fund bold strategy developed by The Earth Institute, Columbia University

  • Where the Poor Are

    New ‘Poverty Atlas’ reveals critical insights into relationship between geography and poverty

  • Working with Rural Communities in India: Q & A with Nirupam Bajpai

    Q & A with Nirupam Bajpai

  • Movement to End Poverty Goes Urban in Africa

    Sustainable development demands that two disparate systems — urban and rural — equally meet the needs of their inhabitants without overburdening natural resources. The sustainability of agriculturally based villages, for example, depends on the health and well being of cities for access to large markets and services. Put simply, the sustainable development of one requires…

  • Scaling Up Services in Rural India

    Earth Institute adviser delivers recommendations to India’s Prime Minister

  • Jeffrey D. Sachs Honored by the Shriver National Center on Poverty Law

    More than 650 guests gathered in Chicago at the Seventh Annual Sargent Shriver Awards Dinner on December 1, 2005 to honor Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, for his leadership in the fight against extreme poverty. The Shriver National Center on Poverty Law also honored documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock for…

  • A Meeting with the Honorable Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh

    On July 1, 2005, Nirupam Bajpai, Senior Development Adviser and Director of the South Asia Program at the Center on Globalization & Sustainable Development (CGSD), met with the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, in New Delhi to discuss how The Earth Institute can help India expand the delivery of needed services to rural…

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

  • India Honors Earth Institute Economist Nirupam Bajpai for Development Work

    India has conferred the high Padma Shri award on senior Earth Institute economist Nirupam Bajpai for his service to the nation in literature and education. The president of India, the Honorable Pratibha Devisingh Patil, will give the award to Bajpai in March, in New Delhi. Padma Shri is given to Indian and foreign nationals to…

  • Mapping Poverty for Better Development Planning

    This remarkable map of Latin America portrays infant mortality rates, a widely used proxy measure of poverty. It demonstrates clearly that although Latin America has generally low infant mortality rates, overall poverty is very unevenly distributed throughout the region. Moreover, the relationship between this pattern of human well-being and broader geographic constraints is also clear.…

  • Gates Foundation Awards $15 Million to Support Science-Based Effort to End Poverty in Africa

    Grant helps fund bold strategy developed by The Earth Institute, Columbia University

  • Where the Poor Are

    New ‘Poverty Atlas’ reveals critical insights into relationship between geography and poverty

  • Working with Rural Communities in India: Q & A with Nirupam Bajpai

    Q & A with Nirupam Bajpai

  • Movement to End Poverty Goes Urban in Africa

    Sustainable development demands that two disparate systems — urban and rural — equally meet the needs of their inhabitants without overburdening natural resources. The sustainability of agriculturally based villages, for example, depends on the health and well being of cities for access to large markets and services. Put simply, the sustainable development of one requires…

  • Scaling Up Services in Rural India

    Earth Institute adviser delivers recommendations to India’s Prime Minister

  • Jeffrey D. Sachs Honored by the Shriver National Center on Poverty Law

    More than 650 guests gathered in Chicago at the Seventh Annual Sargent Shriver Awards Dinner on December 1, 2005 to honor Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, for his leadership in the fight against extreme poverty. The Shriver National Center on Poverty Law also honored documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock for…

  • A Meeting with the Honorable Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh

    On July 1, 2005, Nirupam Bajpai, Senior Development Adviser and Director of the South Asia Program at the Center on Globalization & Sustainable Development (CGSD), met with the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, in New Delhi to discuss how The Earth Institute can help India expand the delivery of needed services to rural…