Research at the Earth Institute is organized into nine themes. Climate and Society is one of them.
In humankind’s pursuit of well-being, we both influence and respond to climate. Anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases affect the heat balance of the Earth, and the resulting changes in precipitation patterns, temperature extremes and rising sea levels affect how society develops. The dynamic interaction between humans and climate is not new, but the scale of the interaction has reached unprecedented proportions.
Climate research at the Earth Institute spans multiple disciplines. While climate scientists study the effects of increased temperatures and atmospheric carbon dioxide on the world’s oceans and weather patterns, engineers are seeking ways to produce cleaner energy and provide steady supplies of fresh water. Social scientists, policy experts and lawyers are studying human behavior in the face of change as a way to improve how we make decisions, and the policy and legal tools we can use to implement measures that address the climate challenge. The Columbia Climate Center integrates research from throughout the University and across disciplines to translate the best climate knowledge into practical solutions.
Featured Projects
Columbia Climate Center
International Research Institute for Climate and Society
School of International and Public Affairs
The Global Network for Climate Solutions (GNCS) is a research-driven effort to inform international climate change negotiations by grounding them in concrete solutions and country-specific activities. Coordinated by the Columbia Climate Center and overseen by Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of the Earth Institute, the GNCS brings together international experts to develop new solutions for adaptation and mitigation.
The Mitigation Program is overseen by Scott Barrett, Lenfest-Earth Institute Professor of Natural Resource Economics at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs and an expert in international negotiations. In the absence of a binding international agreement on climate change and as global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, the GNCS re-examines emissions data and reduction strategies with an emphasis on individual sectors, technologies and gases. To this end, the GNCS has developed a template that highlights how emissions and potential emissions reductions fit together, identifies common bottlenecks, and underscores sectors in which the most progress can be made. To date, network partners in China, the European Union, Japan, Mexico and the United States have provided data for the template. Through the network and the template, the GNCS aims to help decision makers overcome current obstacles and explore alternative venues and strategies for effective action.
The Adaptation Program of the Global Network for Climate Solutions (GNCS) is overseen by Shiv Someshwar, director of the Asia and Pacific program of the Earth Institute’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) and director of IRI’s Institutions and Policy Systems research activities. The risks of climate variability and change can only be successfully managed by using the best science and by formulating solutions in a participatory manner. The GNCS directly engages with several Developing Country Institutes (DCI) to help formulate suites of adaptation solutions. These solutions emphasize a package of tools and technologies for climate smart development, as well as methodologies for systematic assessment of the costs and benefits of adaptation options across regions and sectors. These suites of adaptation solutions, in addition to a resource library and country-specific knowledge modules, are critical for the DCIs as they seek to leverage international climate negotiations and promote successful, science-based solutions locally.
Columbia Climate Center
Barnard College
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Teachers College
Center for Research on Environmental Decisions
Center for International Earth Science Information Network
With funding from the National Science Foundation, the Columbia Climate Center has established the Polar Learning And Responding (POLAR) Climate Partnership, an interdisciplinary network which aims to advance understanding of climate change in the polar regions and its global implications. POLAR focuses on novel educational tools such as simulations, games, social networks and hands-on demonstrations to engage with adult learners, improve their understanding of climate change and its impacts on the poles, and stimulate meaningful responses. The focus on adult learners is critical, given their role as current decision makers.
The interdisciplinary POLAR team includes climate researchers, learning and decision science experts, and formal and informal educators. Team members at Columbia include researchers and educators at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Teachers College, as well as partners at the University of New Hampshire, the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, the International Arctic Research Center and the American Museum of Natural History.
NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies
Center for Climate Systems Research
Columbia Water Center
Mailman School of Public Health
International Research Institute for Climate and Society
Center for International Earth Science Information Network
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
CCRUN, supported by the NOAA Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) initiative, aims to address the challenges associated with climate change in densely populated, highly interconnected urban areas, focusing specifically on the corridor between Philadelphia and Boston. Features such as air quality, overlapping institutional jurisdictions and diverse socio-economic communities require an interdisciplinary stakeholder-driven approach. CCRUN projects are focused thematically around water, coastal zone management and health, with a strong emphasis on building adaptive capacity among socio-economically disadvantaged groups. Led by Cynthia Rosenzweig of NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies and the Center for Climate Systems Research, Alan and Carol Silberstein Professor of Engineering and Columbia Water Center Director Upmanu Lall, and Patrick Kinney of Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, the consortium includes the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI), the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO). The University of Massachusetts-Amherst, City College/CUNY, Stevens Institute of Technology and Drexel University are also consortium members.
International Research Institute for Climate and Society
The behavior of the summer monsoon has significant implications for the economy and livelihoods in India, particularly in the rural sector. More than 60 percent of cropland in India is rain fed. Droughts and floods have deep impacts on rural households, and significant budgetary implications for the government at all levels. The ability to generate reliable seasonal climate forecasts, tailored to specific policy and institutional contexts, could improve India's ability to manage climate risks and reduce these impacts.
The Extended Range Forecast System for Climate Risk Management in Agriculture Project aims to improve monsoon forecasts and to develop tools that help farmers and policy makers use climate information to enhance agricultural resilience. In addition to conducting field-based research, the IRI has co-hosted training events in India and sponsored Indian scientists for research and training visits to the United States. Project partners include the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi; the India Meteorological Department; the National Center for Medium-Range Forecasting; the Indian Council of Agricultural Research; and agricultural universities in the project’s nine demonstration states: Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttarkhand. For full details, visit the project home page.
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