State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Author: Kate Brash2

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  • The Outrageous Complexity of This Enterprise

    As the Copenhagen talks enter their second week, you may be wondering: how does this work? This is not a dumb question. The UN climate treaty (the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC) lays out a set of fundamental principles to guide the development of an international set of rules for the governance…

  • Temperature trends since 1998: Puzzling evidence?

    In “Momentum on Climate Pact Is Elusive” (New York Times, 9/21/09) science reporter Andrew Revkin discusses the relative stability of temperatures over the last decade in the context of the UN climate summit this week. He posits that this short term trend may complicate efforts to achieve an international agreement on climate change this year.…

  • Behavior, policy, and climate change

    Climate change is often discussed as the ultimate market failure: in the absence of laws that change incentives, decisions to maximize individual self-interest will not produce the socially desirable outcome of reducing carbon emissions and preserving the climate system. The role of individual and institutional behavior in bringing about the necessary changes is rarely discussed outside…

  • The Outrageous Complexity of This Enterprise

    As the Copenhagen talks enter their second week, you may be wondering: how does this work? This is not a dumb question. The UN climate treaty (the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or UNFCCC) lays out a set of fundamental principles to guide the development of an international set of rules for the governance…

  • Temperature trends since 1998: Puzzling evidence?

    In “Momentum on Climate Pact Is Elusive” (New York Times, 9/21/09) science reporter Andrew Revkin discusses the relative stability of temperatures over the last decade in the context of the UN climate summit this week. He posits that this short term trend may complicate efforts to achieve an international agreement on climate change this year.…

  • Behavior, policy, and climate change

    Climate change is often discussed as the ultimate market failure: in the absence of laws that change incentives, decisions to maximize individual self-interest will not produce the socially desirable outcome of reducing carbon emissions and preserving the climate system. The role of individual and institutional behavior in bringing about the necessary changes is rarely discussed outside…