Series: Columbia University Earth Institute Sustainability Primers

Climate Change Adaptation by Lisa Dale offers a concise overview of climate adaptation governance. Climate change policy has typically emphasized mitigation, calling for reducing emissions and shifting away from fossil fuels. Yet while these efforts have floundered, floods, wildfires, droughts, and other disasters are becoming more frequent and potent. As the risks escalate, we must ask how to adapt to...

Climate Change Education addresses the critical role of education in responding to the global challenge of climate change. With its impact on every individual, community, and industry, education must integrate climate change topics across all levels and disciplines, both within and beyond traditional educational institutions. This book offers a framework to prioritise climate change in educational agendas while providing pedagogical...

Disasters arise from the convergence of natural and social forces. Earthquakes, cyclones, floods, droughts, and other catastrophic events disproportionately affect the most vulnerable people, whether the poor in wealthy countries or the inhabitants of less developed countries. In a warming world, climate-related disasters threaten to become even more hazardous. This primer provides readers with a fundamental understanding of disasters and...

Cities have taken a leading role in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As federal and state climate policy waxes and wanes, many of the largest U.S. cities have pledged themselves to ambitious sustainability goals, as have smaller communities across the country. City-level policymakers, facing a range of political constraints, a thicket of federal and state laws, and varying degrees...

How will future climates be different from today's world—and what consequences will changes in climate have for societies? Climate Change Science is a primer on the fundamental science of climate change and climate prediction, now updated to reflect the latest research. It is accessible for readers with little to no background in science, particularly geared toward those studying sustainable development....