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

02 August 2022

How coastal seas help the ocean absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

How coastal seas help the ocean absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

The biologically productive North Sea impacts the global climate through exchange of carbon and nutrients with the Atlantic Ocean. A Dutch consortium of scientists will investigate how big this role of the North Sea really is. Under the leadership of the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), conduct a combination of field studies and computer model simulations will be conducted over the next four years to address this question. Models will be used to determine future effects of environmental and climate change on the North Sea, Atlantic Ocean and ultimately Earth’s climate. TU Delft's Peter Herman and Bram van Prooijen (Civil Engineering & Geoscience) are involved in the research.

18 July 2022

Gerdien de Vries in Trouw over wake-up call voor het klimaat

Gerdien de Vries in Trouw over wake-up call voor het klimaat

Het wordt snikheet. Is dit een wake-up call voor het klimaat? "Als mensen zelf klimaatverandering ervaren, wanneer de psychologische afstand verkleind wordt - wat nu steeds meer gebeurt - dan zijn mensen een stapje dichterbij het ondernemen van actie. Want hoe dichterbij iets komt, hoe moeilijker het is om er voor weg te rennen.” zegt Gerdien de Vries.

12 July 2022

'Het wordt heet onder onze voeten' - Delft Matters Magazine

'Het wordt heet onder onze voeten' - Delft Matters Magazine

Mochten de huidige middelen om klimaatverandering af te remmen falen, is climate engineering dan de oplossing? Eurocommissaris Frans Timmersmans sprak met wolkenprofessor Herman Russchenberg, die meer aandacht wil voor onderzoek naar technieken om de aarde af te koelen.

11 July 2022

Gerdien de Vries bij RTL nieuws over klimaatnoodklok van David Attenborough

Gerdien de Vries bij RTL nieuws over klimaatnoodklok van David Attenborough

Weer luidt David Attenborough de klimaatnoodklok. De Britse bioloog riep het vaker, en zal de boodschap tot aan zijn dood blijven verkondigen. "Of je luistert, ligt eraan of je iemand ziet als autoriteit. De mensen die dat zo zien, die luisteren. Als je dat niet vindt, of je gelooft helemaal niet in klimaatverandering, dan luister je niet." zegt Gerdien de Vries bij RTL.

04 July 2022

Gerdien de Vries bij Tweede Kamer over klimaatbeleid en gedragsinzichten

Gerdien de Vries bij Tweede Kamer over klimaatbeleid en gedragsinzichten

Minister Rob Jetten heeft de Tweede Kamer begin dit jaar beloofd dat het Kabinet extra aandacht gaat besteden aan de gedragskundige aspecten van klimaatmaatregelen. Om deze belofte gestalte te geven heeft een groep gedragswetenschappers waaronder Gerdien de Vries (TU Delft) in een viertal intensieve sessies gereflecteerd op een paar bestaande klimaatmaatregelen en de mate/wijze waarop gedragskennis wordt meegenomen in klimaatbeleid.


Climate Action News

04 October 2018

Using aircraft as weather stations

Using aircraft as weather stations

To fly safely, aircraft need accurate updates on wind and temperature. But together, aircraft can also act as a sensor network that provides information to make weather models and predictions better, researchers at TU Delft have found. This week they publish their findings in PLOS One.

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.