The Columbia Climate School's mission is to develop and inspire knowledge-based solutions and educate future leaders for just and prosperous societies on a healthy planet.
News Highlights
Charting the Course for Innovations in Food Systems
A multi-session Climate Week event at Columbia included presentations, interactive activities, and panels on the most challenging and hopeful avenues for the future of food.
Study Reveals Long-Distance Levers Behind U.S. Southwest Drought—and a Dry Future
The U.S. Southwest has suffered a historic drought over the past two decades. A new study elucidates the drivers, and says conditions will never return to those of the relatively wet 20th century.
Five Columbia Climate Researchers Honored by Leading Scientific Organizations
Scientists connected to the Climate School received notable accolades from the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society.
On Saturday, October 14 10am-4pm, Lamont Open House—our biggest, best science fun and discovery event of the year—will take place on our beautiful campus in Palisades, NY! Open House is free and open to the public, with a $5 suggested donation. RSVP and learn more at lamontrocks.com.
Climate Week NYC
Running September 17-24, Climate Week NYC convened the most influential climate leaders to drive the transition, speed up progress, and champion change. The Climate Group selected Columbia Climate School as its University Partner for this year’s Climate Week NYC. Check out the events and stories.
Education
Columbia University is a global leader in climate and sustainability education at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Education programs at the Columbia Climate School provide the interdisciplinary knowledge base for future climate leaders to work with businesses, communities, governments, and civil society to address the climate crisis.
Research
Columbia Climate School nurtures and supports innovative research in the science, consequences, and human dimensions of climate change, including the methods of achieving a more sustainable and just world.

The Columbia Climate School encompasses the Earth Institute, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, and more than 20 other centers and programs, supporting a continuum of research, from basic discovery to societal solutions.

Our Office of Research nurtures our community of established and future environmental leaders through proposal development, programmatic engagement, and compliance support.
Impact
The Columbia Climate School translates its academic work into evidence-based analysis and advice to inform decision- and policy-makers in communities, governments, industries, and nonprofits in the US and globally.
How Do We Dismantle Offshore Oil Structures Without Making the Public Pay?
If offshore oil installations are rapidly dismantled as a result of the transition to clean energy, the public, not companies, could end up paying. How to avoid this?
New Report Highlights the Complex Intersection of Antitrust Law and Sustainability Goals
The purpose of this new report is to provoke and support engagement among policymakers, private firms, and the wider public about the ways that competition policy can support sustainable development.
Model Environmental Justice Bills, Aimed at State Legislators, Are Released
A new framework for legislators and advocates aims to promote environmental justice with exemplary tools to accelerate proposed policy changes.