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Discover climate course materials and resources.
Search the shared repository of simulations, case descriptions and course syllabi to enhance your own climate-related teaching.
- Resource
Columbia Business School’s Climate Knowledge Initiative provides business leaders with the curated, actionable knowledge needed to pick investable and scalable green technologies, while unapologetically flagging areas where business and public interests diverge.
This PPT deck and PDF provides a deep dive into what it would take to decarbonize the steel industry.
- Topics on: Decarbonization
- Resource
Columbia Business School’s Climate Knowledge Initiative provides business leaders with the curated, actionable knowledge needed to pick investable and scalable green technologies, while unapologetically flagging areas where business and public interests diverge.
This article focused on four key points for business leaders working to decarbonize the steel industry.
- Topics on: Decarbonization
- Resource
Columbia Business School’s Climate Knowledge Initiative provides business leaders with the curated, actionable knowledge needed to pick investable and scalable green technologies, while unapologetically flagging areas where business and public interests diverge.
This article focused on four key points for business leaders working to scale solar.
- Topics on: Energy, Investing, Technology
- Resource
Columbia Business School’s Climate Knowledge Initiative provides business leaders with the curated, actionable knowledge needed to pick investable and scalable green technologies, while unapologetically flagging areas where business and public interests diverge.
This PPT deck and PDF provides a deep dive into what it would take to decarbonize the cement industry.
- Topics on: Decarbonization, Energy
- Resource
Columbia Business School’s Climate Knowledge Initiative provides business leaders with the curated, actionable knowledge needed to pick investable and scalable green technologies, while unapologetically flagging areas where business and public interests diverge.
This PPT deck and PDF provides a deep dive into what it would take to scale the solar industry.
- Topics on: Energy, Investing, Technology
- Resource
Columbia Business School’s Climate Knowledge Initiative provides business leaders with the curated, actionable knowledge needed to pick investable and scalable green technologies, while unapologetically flagging areas where business and public interests diverge.
This article focused on six key points for business leaders working to decarbonize the cement industry.
- Topics on: Decarbonization
- Resource
The Open For Good™ initiative provides transparent insight into the state of corporate sustainability disclosure among the S&P 500. Using publicly available data including sustainability reports and regulatory filings, Open for Good analyzes environmental, social, and governance disclosures according to a set of 16 key metrics including climate strategy and impact, diversity, and competencies of the boards of directors. We believe Open for Good’s unbiased and transparent analysis can provide insight into trends in sustainability and highlight areas for improvement.
- Topics on: Strategy
- Resource
The Climate Risk Wiki is an open-source platform designed to facilitate collaboration and knowledge-sharing around climate-related financial risks. It hosts datasets, analytical tools, and methods focused on physical and transition risks, aiming to support stakeholders like financial institutions, policymakers, and researchers.
- Topics on: Planning
- Resource
Guide developed by the U.S. NOAA Climate Program Office
This guide is intended to be used in two ways. The first is during synchronous and asynchronous training. Practitioners may use this as a workbook, marking it up with notes or filling out exercises. The second is as guidance when working with a community to implement the Steps to Resilience.
Each chapter corresponds to one of the Steps to Resilience and begins with objectives, a list of resources (such as worksheets and other guidance), roles and responsibilities for project team members, opportunities for community participation, and questions for assessing success.
Among those resources are two fully articulated examples of working through the Steps to Resilience in Charleston, SC, Louisville, KY and the fictional town of Nautilus. These examples are woven into a formal training program developed to help people learn and apply the Steps to Resilience in their own community focused planning and implementation.
The bulk of this material is presented as practical guidance rather than academic context. Supporting resources are available in two formats: (1) exercises and worksheets that are meant to be completed by practitioners, members of the planning team, or both; and (2) documented guidance, with in-depth facilitation tips, presentation templates, sources of information, collections of external resources, and job aids. Table 1 outlines all of the steps and objectives presented throughout this guide.
Given varying capacities, different pathways and levels of detail may be needed as practitioners and community members work through the Steps to Resilience. The Steps to Resilience should be applied flexibly to serve the needs of the community.
- Topics on: Policy, Resilence
- Resource
Course textbook for project and infrastructure financing.
- Topics on: Planning
- Course
MBA course syllabus covering energy finance and related renewable energy and green finance.
- Topics on: Energy
- Case Description
Allbirds, Inc., the sustainable footwear company whose sneakers were rocked by public figures from Barack Obama to Leonardo DiCaprio, was a promising startup in 2016. But by end of 2022, its stock price had plummeted to ~4% of its previous high. Born out of co-founder Tim Brown’s frustration for the lack of comfortable, minimalist sneakers on the market, Allbirds aimed to address both ease of wear and sustainability as a “purpose-native company built upon a system that leverages nature in a responsible way.” It was met with an almost immediate cult following in Silicon Valley, perceived as both luxurious and responsible. However, the company struggled to realize its anticipated growth, and now, CEO Joey Zwillinger must explore how to turnaround the brand.
- Topics on: Marketing, Net Zero Strategies, Strategy
- Case Description
In November 2023, top of mind for Kristen Siemen, chief sustainability officer at General Motors (GM), was how to increase consumer adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). After committing to be carbon neutral by 2040, the automotive giant has its work cut out for it: while EV purchases increased to 14% in 2022, consumer concerns, such as range anxiety and cost sensitivity, are limiting adoption. Kristen Siemen must consider how the marketing, sustainability, and communication teams should continue to work collaboratively to address this slowdown in market penetration and how to optimally position GM to reach its goal of carbon neutrality.
- Topics on: Marketing, Net Zero Strategies, Reporting and Measurement, Strategy
- Resource
This synthesis paper was prepared by the Antioch Center for Climate Preparedness and
Community Resilience Team, with support from the Climate Resilience Fund, through the
Coordination and Collaboration in the Resilience Ecosystem 2021–22 grants round.
This paper introduces and amplifies principles and best practices for centering equity
in climate resilience planning and action. The audience is primarily users of the U.S.
Climate Resilience Toolkit and its Steps to Resilience. Climate resilience is the “capacity of social, economic, and environmental systems to cope with a hazardous event or
trend or disturbance, responding or reorganizing in ways that maintain their essential
function, identity, and structure, while also maintaining the capacity for adaptation,
learning, and transformation.”
Equity is a frame, a goal, and a process, and as such, it cannot be boiled down to a
linear step-by-step recipe. A summary of best practices is a useful way to begin understanding of the subject matter. It does not substitute for lived experience and cannot
do justice to a topic as complex as equity. Becoming an equity-focused climate resilience practitioner requires years of open-minded and open-hearted study and immersing oneself in environmental justice communities to understand lived experiences.
The ten-practice approach we have outlined in this paper is a simplification of a nonlinear, circular process based on mutual feedback and evolving relationships. Climate
resilience practitioners can approach this document with the understanding that using
this guide may begin a genuine transformation in approaching climate resilience,
adaptation and mitigation efforts in collaboration with communities.
The analysis, principles, practices, and other resources presented in this paper draw
from peer-reviewed scholarly literature as well as—importantly—from gray literature
(e.g., county/municipal, nongovernmental organization and think tank reports) in
addition to our own research in collaboration with community partners, Eastie Farm
and Communities Responding to Extreme Weather (CREW). Our research also included semi-structured interviews with subject matter experts and observation to understand
ways to authentically engage with communities in centering equity. Our goal is to
highlight and amplify the exemplary contributions to practice from these sources.
Transformation is beginning. Large cities in the U.S., which tend to be places where
people of color and large inequities are concentrated, are increasingly recognizing
the importance of equity to climate resilience. Our review of the literature surfaced a
number of recent climate resilience plans in which equity plays a large role. We highlight these plans in this paper’s section of Case Studies (see Appendix A). However,
these approaches are still relatively new, with much to improve on. They are also far
from being mainstream in the field of climate resilience and sustainability. Our intention is that this guide will contribute to popularizing this approach and provide a starting point for implementing best practices to centering equity in climate resilience.
- Topics on: Adaptation, Justice, Resilence
- Resource
Educating for Climate Action and Justice: Guidelines for Excellence is part of a continuing series
of documents published by the North American Association for Environmental Education
(NAAEE) as part of the National Project for Excellence in Environmental Education. The project
is committed to synthesizing the best thinking about environmental education through
an extensive review and discussion process. Hundreds of individuals and organizations
representing all aspects of environmental education reviewed working outlines and drafts.
This project was funded by the Office of Environmental Education at the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) through the National Education and Training Program. The contents
of this document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of EPA, nor does mention of
trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.
- Topics on: Justice, Resilence
- Resource
This guide to transformative skills for climate action expands climate literacy to encompass those inner skills, qualities and capacities that help translate scientific understanding into transformative shifts in the way we do things, individually and collectively. The hope is that this guide will help educators and practitioners shift culture and equip the whole of society with these essential inner resources.
Consultation Draft, 1.7
- Topics on: Impact, Justice, Policy, Resilence
- Resource
Climate Literacy: Essential Principles for Understanding and Addressing Climate Change presents information that is important for individuals and communities to know and understand about Earth’s climate, the impacts of climate change, and solutions. Principles in the guide can serve as discussion-starters or launching points for learning about the climate crisis and what’s being done to address it across the world. The guide aims to promote greater
climate literacy by providing this educational and communication framework of principles and concepts.
Developed by the U.S. Global Change Research Program.
To download this guide and related documents,see globalchange.gov/reports/climateliteracy-guide-third-edition and
climate.gov/climateliteracy
- Topics on: Planning, Policy, Resilence, Science
- Course
Many organizations are now (finally!) attempting to incorporate environmental sustainability initiatives into their strategic planning and day-to-day operations. The success or failure of these initiatives often rests on the ability of leaders to implement and manage the change process. This course will focus on the organizational change process, with particular focus on creating and managing transformational change around sustainability initiatives.
Note: Course taught at Baruch College, City University of New York
- Topics on: Planning
- Resource
The Climate Dictionary is an initiative aimed at providing an everyday guide to understanding climate change. It seeks to bridge the gap between complex scientific jargon and the general public, making climate concepts accessible and relatable to individuals from various backgrounds and levels of expertise.
The concept was driven by the belief that empowering people with knowledge is crucial in fostering action and collective responsibility towards addressing climate change. By utilizing a creative combination of compelling visuals, concise explanations, and engaging storytelling, “The Climate Dictionary” effectively communicated complex climate concepts in a user-friendly and visually captivating manner. The publication features a series of climate-related term or phenomenon. The content was meticulously crafted to cater to diverse audiences, catering to both the scientifically inclined and those with limited prior knowledge of the subject.
- Topics on: Adaptation, Finance, Justice, Policy, Science
- Resource
The En-ROADS Climate Solutions Simulator is a fast, powerful climate solutions scenario tool for understanding how we can achieve our climate goals through changes in energy, land use, consumption, agriculture, and other policies. The simulator focuses on how changes in global GDP, energy efficiency, technological innovation, and carbon price influence carbon emissions, global temperature, and other factors. It is designed to provide a synthesis of the best available science on climate solutions and put it at the fingertips of groups in policy workshops and roleplaying games. These experiences enable people to explore the long-term climate impacts of global policy and investment decisions.
En-ROADS is being developed by Climate Interactive, Ventana Systems, UML Climate Change Initiative, and MIT Sloan.
- Topics on: Decarbonization, Energy, Justice, Mitigation, Net Zero, Net Zero Strategies, Policy, Science