The Columbia Climate School turns bold ideas into real-world action, building partnerships to drive tangible change at scale.
Our Impact Goals
Together, we’re co-creating a thriving future for generations to come.
We prepare leaders with the skills, knowledge, and experience to drive transformational change in climate, Earth, and society.
We partner with frontline communities to build climate solutions that improve human livelihoods and protect biodiversity.
We accelerate scalable, science-based initiatives to reduce, avoid, or sequester global emissions.
Our Focus Areas
To make real progress, we target action across five critical domains.
We draw from five cross-cutting research themes.
Global Impact Lab
Our Work
Behind every initiative is a story of partnership, creativity, and curiosity.
2025-26 Impact Initiatives
Actionable knowledge for business leaders to drive financial and human capital toward decarbonization.
Tackling microplastic pollution through laundry filtration systems and microfiber policy.
A new paradigm for CO2 capture at the community level through nature-inspired artificial flowstones.
2024-25 Impact Initiatives
Place-based workshops to mobilize funding, design and policy for resilient communities and ecosystems.
Bridging the gap between disaster research and practice.
Building a plastics Index and interactive policy map to inform and strengthen plastic laws.
Defining the ethical, investment, and political trade-offs of scaling alternative proteins.
Enhancing mining and expanding metal recovery technologies and policies for a net-zero energy transition.
Impact Highlights from the Centers
Bold, data-driven responses to global climate challenges.
Cities Climate Law Initiative
Legal resources and analysis for cities and partners shaping the urban climate transition.
Climate Finance Vulnerability Index (CliF-VI)
A data-driven index of national climate vulnerability to guide adaptation finance where it's needed most.
Prosperity for Coffee Producers through SDG Coffee Plans
A handbook enabling SDG-aligned development in coffee-producing regions.
Gridded Population of the World (GPW)
A location-based population dataset supporting environmental, disaster, and development planning.
Environment, Peace, and Sustainability
Actionable tools and guidance on environmental conflict and peacebuilding for communities, governments, and educators.
Applied Learning
Our students don't just study climate solutions. They build them.
In this hands-on course, students master the skills of collaboration, stakeholder engagement, and systems thinking by working on real-world climate projects.
A dynamic workshop series to help individuals and organizations map their climate intersections and build their changemaking skills.
A small group of Climate School students work with a client organization to deliver a specific product (e.g., data analysis, program design, curricular).
Our Team
Meet the people driving Columbia Climate School’s impact.
Sandra Goldmark
Associate Dean, Engagement and Impact
Johanna Lovecchio
Senior Director, Engagement and Impact
Hongying Li
Senior Program Manager
Erica Matsumoto
Senior Director, Global Impact Lab
Julia Pienkowska
Project Coordinator
Impact News
The shifts shaping our planet and what they mean for impact.
Regenerative Travel: Students Field Test What’s Next in Climate-Conscious Tourism
The Wild Tomorrow capstone workshop and Cuttyhunk Practicum are two examples of Climate School initiatives that focus on climate-conscious travel.
Partnering for Environmental Justice in Harlem
Now in its fifth year, the annual conference was created to highlight the critical climate-driven health and environmental impacts affecting our shared community.
Why Climate Work Is Community Work
At a recent Climate School event, speaker Memphis Washington discussed the Waterfront Alliance’s climate resilience and environmental justice efforts in Coney Island.