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

18 November 2020

Alliance of top universities urge G20 leaders to prioritise net zero emissions

Alliance of top universities urge G20 leaders to prioritise net zero emissions

An international coalition of leading climate research universities, including TU Delft, has issued its first declaration ahead of the G20 Summit on 21 and 22 November 2020.

18 November 2020

Understanding complex coral reef coasts

Understanding complex coral reef coasts

Fringing coral reefs provide a sheltered habitat for many sea animals and are a snorkelers’ paradise. But they also form a natural barrier which protects the shoreline and the area further inland. Experiments using 3D printed replicas of a coral are helping Marion Tissier gain an insight into how coral reefs influence and dampen wave energy.

13 October 2020

Ground mussel shells for 3D printing

Ground mussel shells for 3D printing

Marita Sauerwein shows that 3D printing and reprinting using locally sourced sustainable and natural raw materials is a viable option in a circular economy.

14 September 2020

Antarctica: cracks in the ice

Antarctica: cracks in the ice

In recent years, the Pine Island Glacier and the Thwaites Glacier on West-Antarctica has been undergoing rapid changes, with potentially major consequences for rising sea levels.

14 September 2020

Counting grains of sand to understand coastal dunes

Counting grains of sand to understand coastal dunes

The Dutch coastline is continually changing. Coastal engineer Sierd de Vries is using ventilators, wind tunnels, drones, jet skis and laser scanners to gain an insight into the development of coastal areas and dune formation. He can often be found sitting close to the Sand Motor counting grains of sand.


Climate Action News

22 January 2020

Climate adaptation starts (roof) top down

Climate adaptation starts (roof) top down

TU Delft is going to become a little bit greener on top: the roof of one of the lecture rooms of the faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences has been turned into a sustainable ‘polder roof’. The green blue roof can collect, store and discharge rainwater in a controlled manner. For researcher Olivier Hoes (Watermanagement) the roof is a field lab to research how this smart roof deals with heavy rains and heat stress.

16 January 2020

Flatpack Buildings

Flatpack Buildings

Taking apart an entire multi-storey car park in the space of a couple of days and putting it back together again somewhere else without wasting any materials? It may sound like the engineering of a far-away future but it may happen sooner than you think. Recycling materials is common practice nowadays but is it the best solution for the environment? Milan Veljkovic and his team at TU Delft’s faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences knew there had to be another way. In partnership with other universities, institutes and companies in the EU they started REDUCE, a project aimed at finding technological solutions which contribute to the circular economy.

12 January 2020

BioXtreme is counting on the supercomputer

BioXtreme is counting on the supercomputer

How do you go about processing an endless amount of data about the DNA material of micro-organisms? When Marjet Oosterkamp was researching industrial wastewater treatment she turned for help to the national supercomputer: it takes over when the human brain and standard computers have to throw in the towel.

11 January 2020

Storm at sea: the inside story

Storm at sea: the inside story

A subject of rollicking sea shanties the world over, storms at sea have always fired people’s imaginations. But knowledge of what happens underneath the waves is not quite as universal. Femke de Jong, Caroline Katsman and Carine van der Boog are preparing to don their sou’westers to investigate the inside story.

30 December 2019

Water in the sky

Water in the sky

Water is of vital importance for human survival. Human activity influences the way water moves around the earth but the complexity of the system is such that it is hard to tell how far-reaching its effects really are. Scientists like Lan Wang-Erlandsson are working hard to chart the earth’s water cycle with more precision. Wang-Erlandsson, who grew up in Sweden, became involved in this area of research when she worked as a volunteer at the annual World Water Week conference in Stockholm.