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

17 July 2023

TU Delft launches online course Sustainable Building with Timber

TU Delft launches online course Sustainable Building with Timber

“The way we construct our buildings needs to change.” says Arjan van Timmeren professor of Environmental Technology & Design at TU Delft. Over 35% of our global greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to the built environment. A third of that amount is specifically related to the production of abiotic (non-renewable) materials such as concrete, metals and plastics. The associated challenges are not only climate related, but also concern resource scarcity, health and housing provision.

07 July 2023

Extra-resilient crops through integration of plant biology, simulation models and AI

Extra-resilient crops through integration of plant biology, simulation models and AI

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) announced its contribution of 15 million euros to PlantXR, a CropXR research programme into 'smart breeding' of extra resilient crops (eXtra Resilient, XR). This impulse brings CropXR's total budget to over €90 million for the next 10 years. NWO’s grant marks the start of the new Dutch institute CropXR, which integrates plant biology, computational modelling, and artificial intelligence into 'smart breeding methods'. Those will be used to develop crop varieties that are more resilient to climate change and less dependent on chemical crop protection. In CropXR, TU Delft works together with Utrecht University, Wageningen University and Research, the University of Amsterdam and dozens of plant breeding, biotech and processing companies on basic scientific research, data collection and data sharing, education, and advancing broad application of the results.

04 July 2023

Remco Hartkamp and David Vermaas receive Vidi grants

Remco Hartkamp and David Vermaas receive Vidi grants

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded two e-Refinery researchers a Vidi grant of up to €800,000. This will allow the laureates to develop an innovative line of research and further expand their own research group over the next five years.

29 June 2023

David Vermaas receives Vidi grants

David Vermaas receives Vidi grants

David Vermaas researches membranes consisting of nano-thin layers that work energy-efficiently and can supply pure fuels to accelerate the energy transition. David is one of eight TU Delft scientists from the science domains of Exact and Natural Sciences (ENW) and Applied and Applied Sciences (AES) to whom the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded a Vidi grant of up to 800,000 euros.

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.


Climate Action News

24 October 2018

Natural solutions for reducing heat in cities

Natural solutions for reducing heat in cities

The introduction (or reintroduction) of plants and open water is the best way of combating extreme heat in our cities, according to PhD defendant Anna Solcerova.

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.