Climate Action Programme


The Climate Action Programme was launched in 2021 and functions as a community for climate action on the TU Delft campus and beyond. We coordinate various events, activities and functions, providing a central platform for climate related research, education and innovation at TU Delft. Through these efforts, we help to bring to fruition our university’s goal of creating impact for a sustainable society.

Our four overarching themes of Climate Science, Climate Change Mitigation, Climate Change Adaptation and Climate Change Governance are composed of Flagships. Researchers from different disciplines co-operate within the Flagships, and dedicated researchers have been appointed to each Flagship. We foster co-operation within Flagships, between the Flagships, with other climate related researchers and with external stakeholders and partners to secure societal impact.

We actively collaborate with other TU Delft initiatives including:

There is always a reason not to act. Let’s do something about this. Time is running out

― Prof Herman Russchenberg

Climate Action News

21 March 2023

Climate-proof coastal protection with 'living dikes'

Climate-proof coastal protection with 'living dikes'

Dikes protect the Netherlands from flooding. To keep the Netherlands safe in the future, several dikes are being reinforced in the High Water Protection Programme. The traditional way of strengthening dikes involves 'hard' (asphalt) revetment, but this is at the expense of the natural environment. Therefore, the 'Living Dikes' project looks at dike reinforcement using 'building-with-nature' methodologies. Various parties, including TU Delft, are investigating how 'living dikes' can play an important role in climate-proof coastal protection while preserving nature and landscape.

15 March 2023

TU Delft crowns best climate and energy publication

TU Delft crowns best climate and energy publication

Een algoritme dat voor een hogere energieopbrengst van windparken zorgt én een onderzoek waaruit blijkt dat niet alleen brandstofverbruik maar ook seizoenseffecten een belangrijke rol spelen bij het optimaliseren van vliegroutes en vlieghoogtes. Dit zijn – in één zin samengevat – de twee grote winnende publicaties van de Beste Climate & Energy Paper Award. De awardceremonie, die woensdag 15 maart plaatsvond op de TU Delft, stond volledig in het teken van grote en kleine innovaties die een bijdrage leveren aan het versnellen van de energietransitie en het beteugelen van klimaatverandering.

09 March 2023

What does Dutch society think about Dutch climate policy?

What does Dutch society think about Dutch climate policy?

From March 9, 2023 to April 21, 2023, all Dutch citizens can advise politicians on climate policy through the National Climate Consultation. Through the so-called Participatory Value Assessment (PWE in Dutch), researchers will enable Dutch citizens to provide the House of Representatives with advice.

28 February 2023

Tatiana Filatova one of eight winners of the 2023 Ammodo Science Award

Tatiana Filatova one of eight winners of the 2023 Ammodo Science Award

Today Ammodo announced that Tatiana Filatova is one of eight winners of the Ammodo Science Award for fundamental research 2023. The laureates each receive a cash prize of 350,000 euros which they can use in the coming years to explore new avenues of fundamental scientific research.

28 February 2023

TU Delft presents the eight best Climate Action & Energy Papers

TU Delft presents the eight best Climate Action & Energy Papers

Record temperatures, floodings and melting sea ice: radical weather events are becoming more frequent and have a devastating effect on our planet and our lives. By accelerating the energy transition and climate action TU Delft, together with its partners, tries to prevent climate change and contain its consequences. With the election of the Best Climate & Energy Paper, TU Delft is highlighting a number of large and small innovations that contribute to this.


Climate Action News

26 September 2018

Two TU Delft proposals chosen to compete in ESA Earth Explorer mission

Two TU Delft proposals chosen to compete in ESA Earth Explorer mission

TU Delft has provided two of the three proposals that are competing for the tenth Earth Explorer mission by ESA, which is planned for 2027-2028. The Earth Explorer missions are aimed at Earth observation, one of the important aims of the European Space Agency (ESA).

25 September 2018

Opening of Ruisdael Observatory

Opening of Ruisdael Observatory

The Ruisdael Observatory – named after the 17th-century painter Jacob van Ruisdael – combines a nationwide dense network of measuring points with high-resolution simulations and the necessary computing power in order to map out changes in local weather, air quality and climate. The official opening of the observatory is on 27 September, with a meeting in the grounds of the KNMI measuring station at Cabauw (Cabauw Experimental Site for Atmospheric Research, CESAR). In April this new top-class research facility was awarded a certificate from NWO’s National Roadmap for Large-Scale Scientific infrastructure.

04 July 2018

Extreme sea levels predicted to increase along global coastlines

Extreme sea levels predicted to increase along global coastlines

Future global warming will lead to an increase in ‘extreme sea levels’, with consequent flood risks to coastal infrastructure and human populations. An international research team from Italy, Greece, the Netherlands (TU Delft / Deltares) and the UK published this new research in Nature Communications.

21 June 2018

Bedrock below West Antarctica rising surprisingly fast

Bedrock below West Antarctica rising surprisingly fast

Researchers have found that the bedrock below the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is rising much more rapidly than expected, revealing a very different Earth structure than previously believed. This discovery has important implications in understanding climate changes in Antarctica. The team of researchers, from ten universities including TU Delft, report on their findings in Science on June 22th.

14 June 2018

Antarctica ramps up sea level rise

Antarctica ramps up sea level rise

Ice losses from Antarctica have increased global sea levels by 7.6 mm since 1992, with two fifths of this rise (3 mm) coming in the last five years alone.The findings are from a major climate assessment known as the Ice Sheet Mass Balance Inter-comparison Exercise (IMBIE), to which TU Delft also contributed, and are published today in Nature.