Climate Action

There is no doubt that the anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases are changing our living environment. Climate change is in our hands. We need to both work on limiting it as much as we can (mitigation), but we will also have to learn to adapt to new circumstances. TU Delft will harness its innovative powers to support the world-wide transition to non-fossil resources, and adaptation of the living environment to the consequences of global warming.

The problem is complex and urgent – but we have no other choice than to be optimistic and use all of our capacity to face the challenge, through our education programs and our research.

For more information, see:

In the Climate Action research programme, we start from four themes we consider to be paramount for future Climate Action:

The TU Delft vision on Climate Action is deeply founded in preceding decades of university wide climate action research. The goal of the Climate action research programme is to build on current strengths and identify the areas where there is a need to strengthen our capacities to keep up our (inter)national reputation as climate action university.

Climate Action News

09 September 2021

High water Limburg summer 2021 more drastic than river floods in 1993 and 1995

High water Limburg summer 2021 more drastic than river floods in 1993 and 1995

The heavy precipitation along with the high water of July 2021 in the Netherlands and surrounding countries was an extreme and exceptional event with major social consequences in Limburg. Commissioned by the Expertise Network for Water Safety (ENW), a broad consortium of knowledge institutions, led by Delft University of Technology and Deltares, has now made an initial analysis of the available information on a range of topics.

18 August 2021

Emma was in Delft while her parental home was flooded

Emma was in Delft while her parental home was flooded

When waves batter the coast, energy is generated. Researchers Branko Šavija and Yading Xu from TU Delft want to capture that by using a special type of concrete to create an alternative energy source.

21 June 2021

Broad support for ambitious climate policy if four conditions are met

Broad support for ambitious climate policy if four conditions are met

Onderzoekers stelden ruim 10.000 Nederlanders in staat de overheid te adviseren over klimaatbeleid. Het eindrapport is nu online.

17 June 2021

Sand on the horizon

Sand on the horizon

It’s a decade since the creation of the Sand Motor, an artificial sand bank off the North Sea coast. What happens to a natural system following human intervention on such a large scale? That question has been the focus of professor of Coastal Engineering Stefan Aarninkhof’s research for the last ten years. The results, he hopes, will pave the way to a full-scale experimental climate lab.

17 May 2021

TU Delft develops helpful cost guidelines for carbon capture

TU Delft develops helpful cost guidelines for carbon capture

Het afvangen en opslaan van CO2 is een van de vele technologieën die nodig zijn om klimaatverandering tegen te gaan. De technologie is beschikbaar en wordt al in diverse projecten toegepast, maar nog niet op wereldwijde schaal toegepast. Het gebrek aan kennis over de kosten van CO2-afvang en -opslag (CCS) kan ertoe leiden dat investeerders zich terugtrekken. Een wereldwijd consortium van twaalf onderzoekers op het gebied van CCS, onder leiding van Andrea Ramirez van de TU Delft, heeft samengewerkt aan een uitgebreide whitepaper. Het whitepaper helpt te begrijpen hoe de kosten van projecten voor CO2-afvang en -opslag correct kunnen worden geraamd.


Climate Action News

10 May 2023

Extreme Weather Phenomena: PHARA's 3D Radar Aims to Better Understand Them

Extreme Weather Phenomena: PHARA's 3D Radar Aims to Better Understand Them

Violent storms and heavy rains are becoming an increasingly pressing concern in today's world, with climate change posing ever greater risks for society. In the Netherlands alone, it is estimated that extreme weather will result in €745 million in damages per year. Yet, one of the biggest problems with extreme weather events is that we still poorly understand them. Thanks to the new PHARA project, funded by NWO for €3.5 million, this could be set to change. PHARA aims to create a 3D weather radar, which would be the first of its kind to measure the growth process of cloud particles.

10 May 2023

Seed funding awarded for serious game to engage urban residents in climate action

Seed funding awarded for serious game to engage urban residents in climate action

Lisa Scholten receives Seed funding from the TU Delft Climate Action Programme for the project: ‘Evaluating an educational serious game to engage urban residents in behaviour change for large scale climate action’.

01 May 2023

Delft Subsurface Urban Energy Lab strengthened with geothermal source on campus

Delft Subsurface Urban Energy Lab strengthened with geothermal source on campus

What was born almost 20 years ago as an enthusiastic plan by some Applied Earth Sciences students is now becoming reality: the construction of the wells will start this summer, and in a few years' time TU Delft's campus will be heated by a geothermal source. Earlier this week, the consortium behind Geothermie Delft decided to make the necessary follow-on investment to realise the planned geothermal wells and start the research programme.

01 May 2023

Royal Honours for Herman Russchenberg

Royal Honours for Herman Russchenberg

Herman Russchenberg, Professor of Geoscience and Remote Sensing at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences (CEG) and TU Delft Pro Vice Rector for Climate Action, was made an Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau in Leiden.

06 April 2023

Coastal changes not only caused by wind and waves, but also by people

Coastal changes not only caused by wind and waves, but also by people

Our coast protects us from the water; it is necessary understand its dynamic processes and to retain the sand at the coast. Natural influences such as wind and waves are constantly changing the coastline. Another important process affecting the coastline is often overlooked: human activity. To investigate this, Roderik Lindenbergh of TU Delft receives a grant from the NWO's Open Technology Programme for the AdaptCoast project.