Groningen residents roll up their sleeves for climate adaptation

Groningen residents roll up their sleeves for climate adaptation

This year, Groningen revolves around dealing with the effects of climate adaptation, culminating in the Climate Adaptation Week from 19 to 25 January 2021. During this week, various activities will take place in the city and surrounding region. The goal of these activities is to stimulate awareness and action among Groningen residents concerning climate adaptation. The UG is a partner in the Climate Adaptation Week.
Read more

UG activities Friday 22 January

Appeal to scientists worldwide for accelerated climate adaptation action

Together with Ban Ki-moon, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Global Center on Adaptation is calling for accelerated climate adaptation action. A declaration has been drawn up, which scientists from all over the world are being urged to sign, as the world needs a massive collective effort to be able to adapt to climate change.

The University of Groningen supports the call to action and calls on its own scientists and scholars, and scientists around the world, to sign the declaration. More information

SEA ASEAN Climate Conference

On 25 January the online conference of the SEA ASEAN Center of the RUG on climate and sustainable development will be held. This conference is held on the occasion of the Climate Adaptation Summit 2021, organized by the Netherlands government and the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), to focus on bridging science and policy perspectives on climate and sustainable development in Southeast Asia. More information

Video on climate and climate adaptation

RUG research on climate and climate adaptation

The energy transition can be nice, if you’re smart about it!

Climate adaptation will be addressed extensively during the Climate Adaptation Week, which will take place from 19 to 25 January 2021 in Groningen. Christian Zuidema is working on the energy transition and its consequences for humans and the landscape.
Read more

Patrick Verkooijen on Climate Adaptation Governance: 'We will train the global leaders of tomorrow'

In May, Patrick Verkooijen was appointed Professor by special appointment of Climate Adaptation Governance at Campus Fryslân and the Faculty of Spatial Sciences at the University of Groningen. As CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), he is committed to adapting to climate change by helping governments and the business community implement solutions.
Read more

Global changes in extreme weather attributed to climate change and climate variability

Extreme weather events are projected to change due to climate change, the risk to societies is therefore also changing. In a new study, Dr. Karin van der Wiel (KNMI) and Prof. Richard Bintanja (KNMI, UG) demonstrate that the increased occurrence of monthly extreme heat events is predominantly caused by a warming mean climate. In contrast, future changes in monthly heavy rainfall events depend to a considerable degree on changes in climate variability. Read more

Environmental psychology joins the fight against climate change

Climate change is one of the major threats facing humanity. Urgent actions are needed to stop global warming. Environmental psychologists aim to understand the interactions between humans and the environment, as well as the psychological dimensions of climate change and climate change policies.

‘Behavioural changes are needed to mitigate and adapt to environmental challenges, as climate change is caused by human actions and because governments cannot fully protect populations against the effects of climate change.’ (Linda Steg)
Read more

Consumers will not choose the more sustainable option automatically

The nitrogen crisis, climate change, energy transition, ‘flight shame’ – sustainable behaviour is a topic that is impossible to avoid at the moment. Food takes up a key position in the discussion around sustainability. In order to produce enough food in the long term, it is crucial to find sustainable ways of doing this that damage the soil and the ecosystem as little as possible.

Why do consumers not choose the more sustainable option more often? An argument that is often cited is that sustainable equals expensive but research shows that there may be more to it than that.
Read more

Achieving climate goals and creating jobs with green hydrogen

Is there a future for green hydrogen activities in the Northern Netherlands? According to Business Studies alumnus Robert van Tuinen, manager of Business Development & Strategy at Seaports in Eemshaven, this is a no-brainer.

‘It’s actually quite simple: green hydrogen is helping us to meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement faster than we thought and is creating new sustainable employment opportunities in the Northern Netherlands.’

Read more

Cities are in need of a makeover

Our cities are at a tipping point, states urban planner Ward Rauws: climate change, the loss of biodiversity and enormous energy consumption are forcing us to reconsider the design of our cities. The past shows us that this has happened before, for example during the rise of cities as centres of production in the industrial revolution, but also after World War Two when modern cities began to expand with the advent of cars, high-rise buildings and top-down spatial planning. In the next stage, suburban life was added to the mix. The way we use and design cities has fundamentally changed, time and time again.
Read more

Strong impact of melting sea ice on North Pole ecosystems

The melting sea ice around the North Pole will lead to drastic changes in the ecosystems of the polar area over the coming century. The growth of algae, crucial to local life systems, will be particularly affected. This expectation was announced in a new study conducted by 34 polar researchers, including marine biologists Dr Maria van Leeuwe and Dr Jacqueline Stefels from the University of Groningen. Their research has been published in academic journal Nature Climate Change.
Read more

Klaus Hubacek: Climate change, the coronavirus, and the economy

Climate change caused by carbon emissions is the leading global environmental problem today. Mitigating carbon emissions and adapting to climate change requires the integration of different types of approaches to support the transformation of society towards sustainability. Read more

Building energy plants that remove greenhouse gases

Making energy systems more efficient and sustainable has driven the career of Prof. P.V. Aravind. As a student, it led him to come to Europe to study for an MSc at the University of Oldenburg (Germany) and a PhD at Delft University of Technology, where he subsequently started his own research group. In September 2019, he moved to the University of Groningen to work, among other projects, on reversible fuel cells that can convert fuel into electricity and vice versa. ‘My dream is to create negative emission power plants and reversible fuel cells are helpful in many ways.’
Read more

Drier soil leads to more extreme heat waves

In the summer of 2010, the west of Russia was hit by record high temperatures and intense drought. But what will extreme heat waves look like by the end of the current century? On Monday 19 March 2018, UG climate scientist Prof. Richard Bintanja and researchers from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), have published a study in the leading journal Nature Climate Change, in which they 'simulate' a heat wave of this intensity in a warmer climate. With surprising results.
Read more

Doing nothing against climate change also has consequences

Do you cycle or take the train instead of going by car, or do you recycle much? If so, this means that you are being environmentally friendly, and it should be emphasized more. This was pointed out by Linda Steg, environmental psychologist at the UG. Steg studies people’s motivations for displaying sustainable behaviour.
Read more

Climate change intensifies war of the birds

University of Groningen biologists have discovered that climate change has an effect on the regular clashes between great tits and pied flycatchers during the breeding season. In some years, great tits killed 10% of the male pied flycatchers. Climate change plays a role in this.
Read more