State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Tongass National Forest

  • Alaska Challenges Reinstated Protections for Tongass National Forest

    Alaska Challenges Reinstated Protections for Tongass National Forest

    A coalition of Alaskan groups have challenged the Biden administration’s reinstated rules to protect the Tongass National Forest, a major carbon sink that is crucial to Indigenous groups, local biodiversity and the Alaskan economy.

  • Controversial Alaskan Mine Receives a Push From the Trump Administration

    Controversial Alaskan Mine Receives a Push From the Trump Administration

    A proposed rare earth element mine on a mountainous island in Alaska is at the center of a geopolitical conflict and an environmental crisis.

  • Conservation in Alaska: If It Sounds Familiar…

    Conservation in Alaska: If It Sounds Familiar…

    It occurred to me while reading noted historian Douglas Brinkley’s new book The Quiet World: Saving Alaska’s Wilderness Kingdom 1879-1960 that some things don’t seem to change. Brinkley’s book chronicles the efforts of the Federal government to save wild Alaska from the extraction industries, mining, timber and fisheries primarily. The notion over one hundred years…

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

  • Alaska Challenges Reinstated Protections for Tongass National Forest

    Alaska Challenges Reinstated Protections for Tongass National Forest

    A coalition of Alaskan groups have challenged the Biden administration’s reinstated rules to protect the Tongass National Forest, a major carbon sink that is crucial to Indigenous groups, local biodiversity and the Alaskan economy.

  • Controversial Alaskan Mine Receives a Push From the Trump Administration

    Controversial Alaskan Mine Receives a Push From the Trump Administration

    A proposed rare earth element mine on a mountainous island in Alaska is at the center of a geopolitical conflict and an environmental crisis.

  • Conservation in Alaska: If It Sounds Familiar…

    Conservation in Alaska: If It Sounds Familiar…

    It occurred to me while reading noted historian Douglas Brinkley’s new book The Quiet World: Saving Alaska’s Wilderness Kingdom 1879-1960 that some things don’t seem to change. Brinkley’s book chronicles the efforts of the Federal government to save wild Alaska from the extraction industries, mining, timber and fisheries primarily. The notion over one hundred years…