Urban Environment Lab
Today's Research on the Challenges of Sustainable Development
The current social context surrounding climate change is ushering in a new era of land use, planning, and development, one that reconsiders the role of natural disasters, natural resources, and environmental impacts on the communities in which we live. The Urban Environment Lab engages students, policy-makers, and research partners in collaborative projects and discussions on the determinants of hazard vulnerability, community resilience, sustainable development, and infrastructure adaptation at the intersection of the natural, social, and built environments.
State of the Planet
- Congratulations to the 2026 Graduates of the Columbia Climate School May 19, 2026On May 15, M.A. in Climate and Society and M.S. in Climate Finance students gathered to celebrate their accomplishments.Olga Rukovets
- Columbia Climate School Mace Bearer Carries a Tradition Forward May 18, 2026This year, professors Kristina Guild Douglass and Michel Sadelain will both hold the ceremonial role.Guest
- Indonesia May Soon Lose Its Last Glaciers May 14, 2026Scientists estimate that Indonesia will lose its two remaining glaciers by 2030—a warning for glaciers around the world.Guest
- Climate Finance in the Multipolar Era May 12, 2026Climate finance in the multipolar era will be driven less by collective targets and more by the need to manage geopolitical security risks in a less stable world.Guest
- A New Study Explains How Carbon Dioxide Cools the Upper Atmosphere—and Warms Earth Below May 12, 2026Researchers have solved a long-standing atmospheric puzzle: how rising carbon dioxide cools the stratosphere even as it warms Earth’s surface and lower atmosphere.Columbia Climate School