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

20 September 2023

The Delft Tree Atlas: much more than maps

The Delft Tree Atlas: much more than maps

Did you know that many cities are also forests? You can see for yourself when you switch Google Maps to satellite mode. From this bird’s-eye view, you will notice that the average tree cover in cities often exceeds 40%, well above the lower limit of the ‘forest’ classification. Certain regions of Delft even reach 65%, which is more than most natural forests in Europe. But what kind of forest is Delft? Or, more accurately, which kinds?

20 September 2023

Marina Tabassum started as Professor Architectural Design for Climate Adaptation

Marina Tabassum started as Professor Architectural Design for Climate Adaptation

Living and working in Bangladesh, “Architectural Design for Climate Adaptation” is almost more of a necessity than a choice for Marina Tabassum. She brings her personal style to it, combining knowledge of local climate, materials history, culture and community. Marina Tabassum has started as Professor at our faculty on 15 September 2023.

06 September 2023

Launch Climate Safety and Security Centre

Launch Climate Safety and Security Centre

Considering geopolitical tensions and power shifts, there is an increasing need for better understanding climate safety and security

05 September 2023

Clearing up the sky: reducing the uncertainty caused by clouds in the climate system

Clearing up the sky: reducing the uncertainty caused by clouds in the climate system

Wolken zijn verantwoordelijk voor een groot deel van de onzekerheid in klimaatprojecties. Met een Starting Grant van de European Research Council (ERC) wil Franziska Glassmeier de evolutie van wolken en hun invloed op het toekomstige klimaat beter begrijpen. Glassmeier is Assistant Professor atmosfeerwetenschappen aan de faculteit Civiele Techniek en Geowetenschappen van de TU Delft: "Als we de onzekerheid veroorzaakt door wolken kunnen verminderen, zouden we een veel beter idee hebben van hoeveel de planeet opwarmt door antropogene emissies."

01 August 2023

Premiere of “Dancing in the Desert”

Premiere of “Dancing in the Desert”

The premiere of Dancing in the Desert will take place on Wednesday, 23 August, at 2 pm on the Delft Markt town square. Admission is free. In this beautiful documentary, a team of filmmakers including Bram van Splunteren follow the student team working on the Nuna 11. It’s an exciting job, especially when you realise that the Nuna 10 caught fire during the previous Solar Challenge in Australia. Will these students succeed in designing and building an entirely new Nuna from scratch? Will it finish the race through the Moroccan desert and maybe even win it?


Climate Action News

05 March 2024

Taking the pulse of Earth’s ecosystems

Taking the pulse of Earth’s ecosystems

Susan Steele-Dunne has been awarded a NWO Vici grant. She will explore how to monitor the pulse of the Earth’s ecosystems using radar observations. Variations in radar observations from a forest during a day can reveal early warning signs of declining health conditions of a forest. An improved understanding of these processes will allow us to make better predictions of how ecosystems will respond to respond to climate change. In the long term, it may even offer opportunities for early interventions.

05 March 2024

Plant a tree on the TU Delft Campus - sign up!

Plant a tree on the TU Delft Campus - sign up!

22 February 2024

Getting to the bottom of sustainable water storage

Getting to the bottom of sustainable water storage

Nature-based solutions have become increasingly popular when it comes to finding ways to discharge or store water. How these behave in time is largely unknown, however. Two trial setups at Flood Proof Holland, to be studied over at least ten years, will give hydrologist Thom Bogaard and his team of students and other researchers a better understanding of the long-term effects of nature-based solutions. The outdoor setups will also provide plenty of opportunities for “multidisciplinary cross-pollination”.

16 February 2024

Green steel programme receives final approval, marking its official start

Green steel programme receives final approval, marking its official start

On 12 February, the Growing with Green Steel programme received official approval for a grant of more than 100 million euros from the National Growth Fund. Around 22 million euros of the total sum is destined for TU Delft. The programme aims to develop scientific knowledge and technology for sustainable steel production.

12 February 2024

Robust reactor design to simplify biomolecule production

Robust reactor design to simplify biomolecule production

TU Delft and Delft Advanced Biorenewables (DAB) are engaged in a long term development of a low cost and robust integrated bioreactor especially for the production of biofuel precursors as well as chemical and other building blocks that have a common ‘oily’ behaviour of immiscibility with aqueous phases such a fermentation broth. Research of Rita da Costa Basto focused on the important elements of the integrated production process of hydrocarbons by the fermentative route such as coalescence and phase separation. She has defended her PhD thesis on this topic Thursday 11 January 2024 in Delft.