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 February 2020

A golden age for earth observation

A golden age for earth observation

Earth observation is experiencing a golden age: satellites are providing us with an unprecedented wealth of data. Climate researcher Stef Lhermitte is making good use of this, because however effective our models may be, they still contain plenty of uncertainties.

16 February 2020

Waiting for the perfect storm

Waiting for the perfect storm

For months hydraulic engineer Patrick Oosterlo has been waiting for a heavy storm. One that can truly test his equipment that was installed in and on a dike on the coast of the eastern Wadden Sea. He needs high waves and strong winds to decide: is this dike high enough?

13 February 2020

Health problems from air pollution often originate from distant emissions

Health problems from air pollution often originate from distant emissions

Air pollution, and the associated premature deaths, are strongly affected by distant emission sources. In the US about half of the premature mortality occurs outside the state that produces the emissions.

11 February 2020

Detecting plastic waste in rivers using drones

Detecting plastic waste in rivers using drones

Rivers take vital water to villages and cities, but unfortunately they also carry harmful plastic to oceans. In order to prevent this, we need to find out exactly where the plastic comes from and how it is distributed over time and space. Counting plastic waste items from bridges is one of the commonly used methods to do this. But then how can the huge amounts of plastic in inaccessible places be pinpointed? Master student in Hydraulic Engineering Marlein Geraeds spent her internship at The Ocean Cleanup investigating how to monitor plastic waste in Malaysia’s River Klang by means of drones.

10 February 2020

Up in the clouds

Up in the clouds

They are a beautiful sight, those cumulus clouds drifting by slowly high above our heads. But what is propelling them? And how do they affect the wind? To find out Louise Nuijens spent a few days with her head in the clouds. Literally.


Climate Action News

30 November 2019

Sinking sea water and rising sea level

Sinking sea water and rising sea level

In 2014 Caroline Katsman was awarded a Vidi grant to conduct research into the influence of ocean whirls on surface water sinking. How is she getting on two (and a bit) years later? ‘2017 is going to be a bumper year, with a number of new papers in the pipeline,’ Katsman says.

27 November 2019

Measuring air pollution street by street

Measuring air pollution street by street

"My research focuses on the use of remote sensing data to improve the modelling of air quality in polluted areas such as the Rijnmond near Rotterdam that is known to have the highest level of air pollution in the Netherlands. Everything is jammed together there: traffic, power stations, shipping and industry. The area is the most relevant one in the country for research into determining air pollution. Incidentally, we also focus on other countries: we want to implement our approach in New Delhi, one of the world’s most polluted cities.

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.