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Commentary by David Sandalow, Vijay Modi, Geoffrey M. Heal + 2 more • December 18, 2015
Following the historic Paris Agreement last weekend, the Columbia SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy collected commentary on the agreement from several of our scholars and Faculty Affiliates across Columbia University. Download the complete set of commentaries here (PDF). The individual pieces are below.
For more information and analysis on clean energy and climate change see our issue webpage.
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Scott Barrett, Lenfest-Earth Institute Professor of Natural Resource Economics at the School of International & Public Affairs, explores the strengths and weaknesses of voluntary pledges, building on his own research. (Download PDF)
Jason Bordoff, Professor of Professional Practice in International and Public Affairs and Founding Director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA, emphasizes that energy innovation is a key part of what made Paris a success. (Download PDF)
Michael Gerrard, Director for the Sabin Center on Climate Change Law at the Columbia Law School, explores the legal implications of the provision in the Paris Agreement that calls on countries to “achieve a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century.” (Download PDF)
Geoff Heal, Donald C. Waite III Professor of Social Enterprise at the Columbia Business School, highlights the importance of recent cost declines in renewable energy and energy storage technologies. (Download PDF)
Vijay Modi, Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, highlights the role of science and technology in expanding energy access while meeting our climate goals. (Download PDF)
David Sandalow, Inaugural Fellow at the Columbia SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy, explores the importance of Paris in the context of a broader set of recent climate diplomacy achievements that highlight the need for continued optimism and determination. (Download PDF)
On November 6, 2025, in the lead-up to the annual UN Conference of the Parties (COP30), the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia University SIPA convened a roundtable on project-based carbon credit markets (PCCMs) in São Paulo, Brazil—a country that both hosted this year’s COP and is well-positioned to shape the next phase of global carbon markets by leveraging its experience in nature-based solutions.
Connecticut needs an honest debate, and fresh thinking, to shape a climate strategy fit for today, not 2022.
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Commentary by David Sandalow, Vijay Modi, Geoffrey M. Heal + 2 more • December 18, 2015