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

20 June 2023

Climate change as a game – Comenius Grant for Laura Cipriani

Climate change as a game – Comenius Grant for Laura Cipriani

With her proposal Climate change as a game. (Co)designing with children the landscape of the future, Laura Cipriani has won the prestigious Comenius Teaching Fellowship Grant 2023. With this grant she can put her vision on educational innovation into practice.

19 June 2023

Damping waves with 50,000 rubber grass blades

Damping waves with 50,000 rubber grass blades

Dimitris Dermentzoglou, PhD student in Coastal Engineering, investigates whether salt marshes can serve as a natural solution for coastal protection. It is why he mimics salt marsh vegetation at the TU Delft Waterlab. He hopes his research will yield a more sustainable alternative to the repeated raising of dikes.

12 June 2023

Humans of TU Delft: Luis Cutz turns waste into energy

Humans of TU Delft: Luis Cutz turns waste into energy

How waste is accelerating the green energy transition. (Article Delta June 5th, 2023)

23 May 2023

Field lab ‘WaterStraat’ on TU Delft Campus celebrates five years of innovation

Field lab ‘WaterStraat’ on TU Delft Campus celebrates five years of innovation

The recent news is abundantly clear: severe weather, yellow code alerts, and water damage in large parts of the country. Due to climate change, we can expect more heat and drought, but also more rainfall in a short period of time.

22 May 2023

TU Delft monitors biodiversity for green TU Delft Campus

TU Delft monitors biodiversity for green TU Delft Campus

Monday, May 22 2023, during Biodiversity Day, TU Delft is launching a collaboration with Waarneming.nl to make the TU Delft Campus more green and vibrant. René Hoonhout and Tim Tabak from EcoCampus gave tours to students and staff to discover and capture plants, animals and organisms on campus. Monitoring the biodiversity is an important part of the sustainability ambition of the TU Delft to be carbon neutral, climate-adaptive and circular by 2030 with a focus on improving biodiversity and quality of life. René Hoonhout: "We are moving towards a nature-inclusive way of management. By making observations, we can measure whether this contributes the improvement of biodiversity."