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

25 November 2019

BRIGAID: Solutions for extreme climate events

BRIGAID: Solutions for extreme climate events

Climate scientists are predicting an increase in droughts, floods and other extreme weather events as a result of continuing global warming. BRIGAID (Bridging the gap for Innovations in Disaster Resilience), an ambitious programme initiated by a partnership of European universities, research institutes and businesses in May of this year, is aimed at finding innovative ways of coping with the increased likelihood of natural disasters of this kind. Bas Jonkman (39), Professor of Integral Hydraulic Engineering at TU Delft’s faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences will be heading this multifaceted programme for the next four years.

12 November 2019

Clouds and climate

Clouds and climate

Herman Russchenberg is engaged in intensive and extensive research into the causes of climate change. His own research involves investigating the role played by clouds and dust particles in the atmosphere, but he is also head of the TU Delft Climate Institute, established in March 2012 to bring together TU Delft researchers working on all aspects of climate and climate change. Russchenberg started out in the faculty of Electrical Engineering, conducting research into the influence of the atmosphere (rain, clouds) on satellite signals. After obtaining his PhD in 1992, he shifted his attention to the physics of water vapour, water droplets, dust particles, sunlight, radiation and emissions in the atmosphere. He is now based in the faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences.

07 November 2019

The evolution of the Greenland ice sheet

The evolution of the Greenland ice sheet

Miren Vizcaino has received an ERC Starting Grant. With this ERC Grant, she will investigate the evolution of the Greenland ice sheet throughout the centuries, in response to anthropogenic climate change. She will compare this with past deglaciations during the last interglacial and the Holocene, in order to improve climate models.

05 September 2019

Rapid snow retreat amplifies North Greenland mass loss

Rapid snow retreat amplifies North Greenland mass loss

Researchers show a large regional difference between melt in North and South Greenland.

27 May 2019

Arno Smets appointed Mission Innovation Champion

Arno Smets appointed Mission Innovation Champion

Professor Arno Smets has been named one of the first Mission Innovation Champions, a new initiative to honour pioneers in the field of clean energy.


Climate Action News

14 November 2018

First ever professor of Ethics of Water Engineering: ‘Take account of the differing opportunities available to citizens’

On Friday, 16 November, Prof. Neelke Doorn gave her inaugural address as professor of Ethics of Water Engineering.

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.