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The Road to Copenhagen
Beginning December 7, 2009, representatives from nearly 200 nations will convene in Copenhagen, Denmark to consider measures to address climate change. In advance of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) offers a wide variety of resources.
Headlines: Read the latest from the UN newsroom.
Reference Guide: A group of students from SIPA’s MPA program in Environmental Science and Policy has developed a reference guide to the summit. This primer provides a clear description of the problems and the goals of the negotiations. 
Videos: SIPA has hosted several distinguished guests for lectures and panel discussions on climate change and the upcoming summit.
- Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General and SIPA Global Fellow, delivered the Gabriel Silver Lecture at Columbia’s World Leaders Forum. (Flash Player)
- Connie Hedegaard, Danish Minister for Climate and Energy, addresses the prospects for a global climate treaty in Copenhagen and the role of the United States.
(Flash Player)
- Christophe de Margerie, CEO of Total SA, discusses the challenge of global warming and the development of future energies, human rights and leadership of a multinational company in times of crisis. (Flash Player)
- Jairam Ramesh, Indian Minister for the Environment, discusses India’s position during the summit in Copenhagen. (Flash Player)
- Lord Nicholas Stern, British economist, former head of UK's Government Economic Service, Patel Professor of Economics and Government, and chair of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Lord Stern is also author of The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review. (Flash Player)
Student Research:As part of their Capstone Workshops, SIPA students complete a wide variety of projects related to the environment and sustainability. During the past year, that research has included an assessment of climate change on Gateway National Recreation Area and energy management in New York City public housing.
Read more student projects from the MPA program in Environmental Science and Policy here.
Faculty Research: Many members of SIPA’s faculty conduct research related to the environment, energy, development and the economy.
Scott Barrett is the Lenfest Professor of Natural Resource Economics at SIPA and the Earth Institute. Barrett's research focuses on interactions between natural and social systems, especially at the global level. He is best known for his work involving international environmental agreements, such as the Kyoto Protocol. Barrett's work earned him the Erik Kempe Award in Environmental and Resource Economics.
Steven Cohen is the Executive Director of the Earth Institute and is Director of SIPA’s MPA program in Environmental Science and Policy. From 2002 to 2006, he directed education programs at the Earth Institute. He has previously directed education programs at the Earth Institute, served as Vice-Dean of SIPA, and director of Columbia University’s Graduate Program in Public Policy and Administration. Two recent articles by Professor Cohen in the New York Observer address the Copenhagen summit:
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"They Can Run But Cannot Hide from the Climate Conference in Copenhagen"
- "The Political Necessity of Climate and Energy Policy"
Glenn Denning is a professor of Professional Practice in International and Public Affairs, and Associate Director of the Center for Globalization and Sustainable Development at the Earth Institute. Denning joined the Earth Institute in 2004 as Senior Research Scholar and Associate Director of the Tropical Agriculture and Environment Program. Denning helped establish The MDG Centre, East and Southern Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, and served as Director.
Stephen A. Hammer is Director of the Urban Energy Project at Columbia University's Center for Energy, Marine Transportation and Public Policy. Hammer researches and supports energy policymaking efforts in cities, and teaches graduate seminars on urban energy systems and distributed energy technologies.
Geoffrey Heal is the Garret Professor of Public Policy and Business Responsibility. He has served as a senior vice dean of the business school (1991–94) and as an academic director of the executive MBA (1995–99). His current research interests include studying ways to control the impact of economic activity on the environment and valuing economic services provided by environmental assets.
Jeffrey D. Sachs is the director of the Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is also Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. From 2002 to 2006, he was Director of the UN Millennium Project and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Goals, the internationally agreed goals to reduce extreme poverty, disease, and hunger by the year 2015.
Wolfram Schlenker is an assistant professor in environmental and natural resource economics. His research interests include the economics of climate change, water rights, and their impact on agricultural output, as well as models of exhaustible resources with endogenous discoveries.