Sabin Center for Climate Change Law17
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As Predicted: A Rising Tide of Migration
“With sea levels on the rise, several island nations are scrambling to stay above water and ensure citizens will have a place to go when the ocean engulfs their homeland. The humanitarian-crisis phase of climate change has officially begun.”
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Court Ruling on Clean Power Plan a Setback, But…
The Supreme Court’s decision Tuesday to postpone implementation of the Clean Power Plan represents a setback for efforts to combat climate change; but the damage to the U.S. ability to meet pledges it made at the Paris climate summit in December “is less than it might seem,” says Michael Gerrard.
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From Copenhagen to Paris: Low Expectations
As we head to Paris, the expectations are profoundly lower. The national commitments that countries are putting on the table do not add up to nearly enough to keep us within 2 degrees; instead the plan is to come back every five years and hopefully do better. … It is still mathematically possible to stay…
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Michael Gerrard to Head Institute Faculty
Columbia Law School Professor Michael B. Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, has been named chair of the faculty of the Earth Institute.
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Initiative on Extreme Weather and Climate Kick-Off
This week marks the launch of the new Columbia Initiative on Extreme Weather and Climate, a cross-disciplinary collaboration between a variety of centers, research groups and individuals from across Columbia University. The Initiative, led by Adam Sobel, kicked off on Monday evening with a World Leaders Forum panel event in Low Library. Panelists discussed a…
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An Evening with the Writers of the Clean Air Act: Insight into the ‘Golden Age’ of Environmental Law
At a panel discussion this week, Leon Billings and Thomas Jorling, two senior staff members who helped craft the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and other major environmental legislation in the 1970s, spoke about the bipartisan effort to pass that legislation, and the partisan divide that stymies Congress today.
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How Can Federal and City Governments Cooperate? The Case of Green Infrastructure
With support from the Earth Institute, writers Caswell Holloway, Carter Strickland, Michael Gerrard, and Daniel Firger recently published “Solving the CSO Conundrum: Green Infrastructure and the Unfulfilled Promise of Federal-Municipal Cooperation” in Harvard Environmental Law Review. The authors propose regulatory and policy reform to develop comprehensive, locally led infrastructure and sustainability initiatives that improve public…
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Major Gift Will Expand Center for Climate Change Law
Columbia Law School’s Center for Climate Change Law will be newly expanded with a major gift from the Andrew Sabin Family Foundation. The center, an affiliate of the Earth Institute, has been renamed the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.
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What Hurricane Sandy Was Not
“It is often said that generals always prepare to fight the last war. We need to be sure that we do not just prepare for the last disaster, and put all of our limited resources in guarding against that one, without thinking about the other things that could happen.”
During COP30—the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference taking place November 10–21 in Belém, Brazil—experts from Columbia Climate School and Columbia University will be contributing to key events, sharing insights, and helping shape the dialogue toward ambitious, science-based solutions. Learn More
