A conversation with Laurence Tubiana and Alexis Abramson, moderated by M. Sanjayan
The Paris Climate Agreement was unanimously adopted by 194 countries in 2015 against considerable odds. The Agreement set an ambitious goal of limiting the global average temperature increase to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to restrict the increase to 1.5°C. The United States, a major force in the successful ratification of the Accord, has since pulled out of the agreement twice, most recently in January 2026.
Can international policymaking still play a significant role in addressing the climate crisis? Laurence Tubiana, Dean of the Paris Climate School at Sciences Po and a primary architect of the Paris Agreement, joins Alexis Abramson, Dean of the Columbia Climate School, to explore how countries can continue to strengthen international cooperation in face of the climate crisis. As the two Climate Schools come together to launch a Dual Master’s in Climate, Tubiana and Abramson will be asking how multilateral platforms can still be relevant to generate action to combat climate change. Their conversation will be moderated by M. Sanjayan, CEO of the New York Climate Exchange.
This event is organized by the Columbia Maison Française, Alliance Program, and Columbia Climate School, in partnership with Villa Albertine as part of its Albertine Conversations series, and with the participation of the New York Climate Exchange.
Participants
Alexis Abramson is Dean of the Columbia Climate School and a professor of climate. She is a recognized climate leader and an expert in sustainable energy technologies. Before assuming her role at Columbia in January 2025, Professor Abramson served as Dean of the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth. She also served as Director of Case Western Reserve University's Great Lakes Energy Institute, where she focused on developing sustainable energy technology solutions. During the Obama administration, she was chief scientist and manager of the Emerging Technologies Division in the U.S. Department of Energy's Building Technologies Office.
Laurence Tubiana is an economist, diplomat, and dean of the Paris Climate School at Sciences Po. She has served as CEO of the European Climate Foundation since 2017 and was the Special Envoy for Europe at COP30. She was France's ambassador for the COP21 climate negotiations and co-chaired the French Citizens' Convention on Climate in 2020. Widely regarded as one of the principal architects of the Paris Agreement, signed in 2015, she also co-founded the Paris-based Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) in 2001.
M. Sanjayan is the CEO of the New York Climate Exchange. He is an internationally recognized conservation scientist and a leading public voice on climate. From 2017 to 2025, he led Conservation International, transforming the organization by forging strategic partnerships with leading companies, governments, and philanthropies to advance conservation goals. A scientist by training, he previously served for a decade as lead scientist at The Nature Conservancy. He is also an Emmy-nominated broadcaster and host of award-winning documentaries.
Event Details & Important Information
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