Second Conference on Attribution Science and Climate Law
June 10-11, 2026 | Columbia University, New York City
Registration is now open here.
The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and the Columbia Climate School are hosting the second Attribution Science and Climate Law Conference to be held on June 10-11, 2026 at Columbia University in New York City at the Bollinger Forum.
This interdisciplinary conference will bring together researchers, scholars, and practitioners to examine the evolving field of climate change attribution science and its implications for law, litigation, governance, and policy. Participants will include physical scientists, public health researchers, economists, social scientists, legal scholars, and legal practitioners, among others. This event will build upon the success of a prior conference on Attribution Science and Climate Law which was held at Columbia University in January 2025.
The 2-day program will feature oral panels, breakout discussions, and a poster session featuring novel research. Key topics and themes include:
- Scientific foundations and frontiers: The conference will explore the evolving field of climate change attribution science, including recent developments in extreme event, impact, and end-to-end attribution.
- Climate impacts and damages: Scientists will discuss insights from attribution research regarding the effects of climate change on human health, food security, labor, extreme event exposure, economic damages, and more.
- Law, policy, and governance: Participants will explore how climate science factors into legal decision-making across different policy domains, and how scientific concepts can be effectively communicated in legal contexts.
- Climate litigation and evidence: Legal experts will discuss the use of attribution science in litigation, and how the science factors into legal discussions about harm, causation, foreseeability, and responsibility for climate damages.
- Emerging challenges: Participants will consider how attribution science and legal strategies can be leveraged to address emerging challenges in climate law and policy, including challenges related to international governance, climate displacement, regulatory rollbacks, and political attacks on climate science.
Agenda
Wednesday, June 10 9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Morning Session 1 – Keynote Presentations and Expert Roundtable
This session will feature high-level perspectives from both legal and scientific experts on the intersection of attribution science and climate law.
Morning Session 2 – Status of Research and Key Insights from the Field
This session will provide a landscape-level overview of recent developments in climate change detection and attribution science. • Presenters will discuss methodological underpinnings and key insights across different areas of attribution research, including extreme event attribution, health impact attribution, and end-to-end (or source) attribution.
Afternoon Session 1 – From Evidence to Action: Attribution Science, Law and Policy
This panel will explore the practical application of attribution research in legal and policy settings. Presenters will discuss the role of attribution science in climate litigation, human rights law, corporate responsibility, climate risk assessment, and government decisionmaking.
Afternoon Breakout Sessions – Frontiers in Attribution Science
The afternoon will feature breakout sessions focused on cutting-edge developments in attribution science.
- Topics will include technical innovations in extreme event, impact, and end-to-end attribution; novel techniques for evaluating and quantifying harms attributable to climate change; emerging developments in the field of health impact attribution; and examples of applied research on climate impacts and source attribution.
- Presenters will also discuss research findings related to extreme event damages, food security, labor impacts, water impacts, intergenerational inequities, and other consequences of climate change.
Reception to Follow
Morning Session 1 – Defending Science in the Current Political Climate
This session will address the challenges that climate scientists face when participating in legal and policy processes amidst a polarized political landscape. Presenters will discuss the ways in which climate scientists can contribute to legal and policy decision-making, considerations for communicating climate science in legal settings, and how scientists and lawyers can work together to defend and advance climate science in the current political environment.
Morning Breakout Sessions – Attribution Science in the Courtroom
Two parallel breakout sessions will examine the role of attribution science in litigation involving governments and corporations, and how the science informs legal arguments related to causation, harm, foreseeability, responsibility, and liability for climate damages.
Lunch and Poster Session
Lunch will be followed by a poster session featuring novel research at the intersection of climate science and the law, with opportunities for scholars, practitioners, early career researchers, and PhD students to share works-in-progress with other conference participants.
Afternoon Breakout Sessions – Legal Applications and Global Perspectives
Two parallel breakout sessions will examine how attribution science can inform law and policy across different legal regimes.
- One session will explore how attribution evidence can strengthen protection and accountability frameworks for people who are displaced or forced to move as a result of climate change.
- The second session will feature comparative law perspectives on how attribution evidence has influenced litigation and emerging jurisprudence in different global jurisdictions, including Africa, Brazil, and China.
Final Session – Reflections and Future Directions
This concluding session will provide an opportunity to reflect on the ongoing evolution of attribution science, important upcoming developments within the IPCC and UNFCCC, and future directions in climate law. Participants will also reflect on ongoing opportunities for interdisciplinary work in this field.
With thanks to our Advisory Committee:
Dr. Adam Sobel, Professor of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics and of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University
Dr. Ben Santer, Atmospheric Scientist, Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Doug Kysar, J.D., Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Law, Environment and Animals Program, Yale Law School
Dr. Joyce Kimutai, Research Associate in the Analysis and Interpretation of Climate Data for Extreme Weather, Imperial College London
Dr. Justin Mankin, Associate Professor of Geography, Dartmouth College; Adjunct Associate Research Scientist, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Dr. Kristie Ebi, Professor of Global Health and Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington
Dr. Kristina Dahl, Vice President for Science, Climate Central
Sheila Foster, J.D., Professor of Climate, Columbia University Climate School