State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

climate change142

  • The Right Tools to Talk Climate

    At AGU, you need the right tools to understand what’s going on, and to get where you need to go. Columbia researchers have been looking for the right tools to navigate another complicated place: The gap between what climate science tells us, and how a lot of the public hears that information.

  • Deep Ocean Heat Is Melting Antarctic Ice

    Deep Ocean Heat Is Melting Antarctic Ice

    Like dirt swept under the carpet, it appears that much of the human-made heat produced over the last century has been getting soaked up by the world’s oceans, and sinking into deep waters.

  • Parched for Peace: The Fertile Crescent Might Be Barren

    Parched for Peace: The Fertile Crescent Might Be Barren

    This past October, the Levant Desalination Association and Nosstia, an organization of expat Syrian scientists, arranged a conference in the capital city of Damascus to discuss Syria’s water crisis.

  • Parched for Peace: A Miniseries on the Mideast Water Crisis

    Parched for Peace: A Miniseries on the Mideast Water Crisis

    For a vast majority of the past fifty years, oil and its abundance defined the Middle East. In coming years, however, that part of the world may well be defined by the dearth of a different natural resource: water.

  • Is Groundwater Depletion Causing Sea-level Rise?

    Is Groundwater Depletion Causing Sea-level Rise?

    A recent study from Yoshihide Wada and other researchers from Utrecht University attempted to assess the status of global groundwater depletion—that is, the amount of water that is being drawn out from underground reservoirs that is not being replaced by precipitation—and came up with some startling conclusions. Chief among them that depletion of groundwater may…

  • Risky Business 2: Municipal Bonds?

    Risky Business 2: Municipal Bonds?

    According to a recently released report, municipal bonds, which finance a large portion of the nation’s water utilities and infrastructure, may not carry ratings that reflect the growing pool of risk surrounding the nation’s water supply.

  • Columbia Engineers an Impact on Water Sustainability

    Columbia Engineers an Impact on Water Sustainability

    The most recent issue of the Columbia Engineering Magazine profiles many of the Columbia University Engineering faculty who are addressing the issues of sustainability in the water, climate and energy fields. Several of Columbia Water Center’s researchers and collaborators were featured. Here are some teasers that demonstrate the depth and breadth of the talent at…

  • The New York DEP: A New Kind of Modeling Agency

    The New York DEP: A New Kind of Modeling Agency

    Last Friday, Don Pierson of the NY DEP gave a lecture at the Columbia Water Center as part of our Fall Seminar Series. The talk, entitled “A Project to Evaluate the Effects of Climate Change on the NYC Drinking Water Supply,” detailed the process behind current DEP efforts to model the possible effects of climate…

  • Sachs: ‘US Remains Trapped and Paralyzed on Climate Change’

    Sachs: ‘US Remains Trapped and Paralyzed on Climate Change’

    Jeffrey Sachs discusses the inaction and inability of the US to enact any meaningful climate legislation with future prospects growing dim with the changing of the guard in Congress after last week’s midterm elections.

Collage of Turkiye beach scene and Columbia University Campus with text: UN Climate Change Conference COP31, Antalya, Turkiye, Nov 9-20, 2026

COP31, the 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference, aims to advance dialogue, strengthen consensus, and accelerate climate action on a global scale. From November 9–20, 2026 in Antalya, Türkiye, heads of state, ministers, scientists, business leaders, and civil society will gather to advance efforts in emission targets, climate finance, and adaptation and resilience. Once again, our experts, students, and global thought leaders from Columbia Climate School and across Columbia University are contributing to key events, sharing insights, and helping shape the dialogue toward ambitious, science-based solutions. Learn More

  • The Right Tools to Talk Climate

    At AGU, you need the right tools to understand what’s going on, and to get where you need to go. Columbia researchers have been looking for the right tools to navigate another complicated place: The gap between what climate science tells us, and how a lot of the public hears that information.

  • Deep Ocean Heat Is Melting Antarctic Ice

    Deep Ocean Heat Is Melting Antarctic Ice

    Like dirt swept under the carpet, it appears that much of the human-made heat produced over the last century has been getting soaked up by the world’s oceans, and sinking into deep waters.

  • Parched for Peace: The Fertile Crescent Might Be Barren

    Parched for Peace: The Fertile Crescent Might Be Barren

    This past October, the Levant Desalination Association and Nosstia, an organization of expat Syrian scientists, arranged a conference in the capital city of Damascus to discuss Syria’s water crisis.

  • Parched for Peace: A Miniseries on the Mideast Water Crisis

    Parched for Peace: A Miniseries on the Mideast Water Crisis

    For a vast majority of the past fifty years, oil and its abundance defined the Middle East. In coming years, however, that part of the world may well be defined by the dearth of a different natural resource: water.

  • Is Groundwater Depletion Causing Sea-level Rise?

    Is Groundwater Depletion Causing Sea-level Rise?

    A recent study from Yoshihide Wada and other researchers from Utrecht University attempted to assess the status of global groundwater depletion—that is, the amount of water that is being drawn out from underground reservoirs that is not being replaced by precipitation—and came up with some startling conclusions. Chief among them that depletion of groundwater may…

  • Risky Business 2: Municipal Bonds?

    Risky Business 2: Municipal Bonds?

    According to a recently released report, municipal bonds, which finance a large portion of the nation’s water utilities and infrastructure, may not carry ratings that reflect the growing pool of risk surrounding the nation’s water supply.

  • Columbia Engineers an Impact on Water Sustainability

    Columbia Engineers an Impact on Water Sustainability

    The most recent issue of the Columbia Engineering Magazine profiles many of the Columbia University Engineering faculty who are addressing the issues of sustainability in the water, climate and energy fields. Several of Columbia Water Center’s researchers and collaborators were featured. Here are some teasers that demonstrate the depth and breadth of the talent at…

  • The New York DEP: A New Kind of Modeling Agency

    The New York DEP: A New Kind of Modeling Agency

    Last Friday, Don Pierson of the NY DEP gave a lecture at the Columbia Water Center as part of our Fall Seminar Series. The talk, entitled “A Project to Evaluate the Effects of Climate Change on the NYC Drinking Water Supply,” detailed the process behind current DEP efforts to model the possible effects of climate…

  • Sachs: ‘US Remains Trapped and Paralyzed on Climate Change’

    Sachs: ‘US Remains Trapped and Paralyzed on Climate Change’

    Jeffrey Sachs discusses the inaction and inability of the US to enact any meaningful climate legislation with future prospects growing dim with the changing of the guard in Congress after last week’s midterm elections.