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.
Events
• Join our monthly free lunch lectures
• Apply for our Seed Fund
• Win the award for best climate paper
• Receive our newsletter
• Stay up to date on vacancies
Delft Energy Initiative
We work together with the TU Delft Energy Initiative and it's energy institutes: Urban Energy; PowerWeb; Wind Energy; e-Refinery; H2; e4Battery; Social Innovation; Ocean Energy, Energy Access 4 All.
Herman Russchenberg
Pro Vice Rector Climate Action
‘There is always a reason not to act. Let’s do something about this. Time is running out’
Climate Action Stories
Climate Action News
30 December 2019
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.
28 December 2019
Water stress in the rainforest
How much water is intercepted by the canopy of a tree? That was the question PhD candidate Tim van Emmerik had to find an answer to in order to gain a better understanding of the earth’s water cycle. But how to go about it? Fitting every leaf with expensive equipment was not an option, so Tim and colleagues had to develop smart measuring methods to infer the right data. And learn to climb trees, in the Brazilian Amazon.
23 December 2019
Hot topic: Green Roofs
Green roofs are hot! Roofs completely covered in plants are becoming a familiar sight in our cities. After all, what’s not to like? They offer a home to birds and insects, and because the plants hold on to moisture they cool down the city in summer. And, as an added bonus, it’s clear for everyone to see you’re doing your bit for the environment. Except that Anna Solcerova’s PhD research project (Department of Water Management) shows that these roofs are having quite a different effect.
21 December 2019
Leapfrogging towards sustainable palm oil
With palm oil being the most widely used vegetable oil in the world, the industry is likely to stay with us for the foreseeable future, despite its controversial reputation of pollution, deforestation and ignoring the needs of local communities. “The palm oil industry is only expanding, so doing nothing is not going to solve the problem,” says Dr Ralph Lindeboom of the department of Sanitary Engineering. Together with the PhD-researcher and Delft Global Fellow Saqr Al-Muraisy , he aims to help make the industry more sustainable for both the environment and local people.
14 December 2019
Mangroves caught in the middle
In a channel at TU Delft’s Water lab a stream of purple-tinted water makes its way past thousands of small wooden pegs. The water was dyed by PhD-candidate Son Truong Hong, who is closely observing the flow with an empty bottle of paint in his hands. This test forms part of his research into the importance of the mangrove forests in the Mekong Delta estuaries. Son is fascinated by the tangled roots of these extraordinary trees. What is the mangrove’s role in preventing river bank erosion? And, most crucially, how much of the mangrove forests needs to remain to support a healthy ecosystem?
