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Report on the Multilingual “Climate and Energy Transition for All” Evenings

Report by Rayan Younis (Leids Steunloket Migranten) on the First Evening of the Multilingual Evenings “Climate and Energy Transition for All”: A Collaboration between Leids Steunloket Migranten and Solid Sustainability Research. Yesterday marked the start of the “Climate and Energy Transition for All” series of evenings, an initiative that came about through the fruitful collaboration between the Leids Steunloket Migranten… Read More »Report on the Multilingual “Climate and Energy Transition for All” Evenings

Energy transition for everyone

متن فارسی زیر / النص العربي أدناه The Leiden Support Desk for Migrants and Solid Sustainability invite you to come talk about the climate crisis and energy transition! We want to share knowledge, hear your perspective, and show how you can get involved. We have 6 evenings planned in Dutch, Arabic, Persian and English, with talks and discussion, but also… Read More »Energy transition for everyone

‘Universities, develop policy for ethical collaboration’

Opinion | by Mark Akkerman & Linda Knoester 6 December 2023 | Dutch universities conduct research that contributes to the climate crisis, war, oppression and violence against refugees. They do so on behalf of and with funding from interested industries or governments, write Mark Akkerman and Linda Knoester. They argue that universities should develop clear policies for collaborations. A broadening of… Read More »‘Universities, develop policy for ethical collaboration’

Paris-alignment of Dutch academia – inspiration from the financial sector

The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) and Utrecht University have announced that they will only collaborate with fossil companies that demonstrably commit, in the short term, to the objectives of the Paris Agreement. The Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) also decided on stricter conditions for collaboration with external parties, but looks to NWO (Dutch Research Council), their parent organisation, to define a national policy or guidelines. … Read More »Paris-alignment of Dutch academia – inspiration from the financial sector

Workshops and conversation circles around university-fossil ties

In August and September, we gave several workshops and facilitated conversation circles around universities’ relationships with the fossil industry (“fossil ties”). Our workshops centered around how to map fossil ties at one’s university effectively and efficiently. Our conversation circles begin with a discussion about the role of a university in society, and why working with universities is interesting to fossil… Read More »Workshops and conversation circles around university-fossil ties

Fossil ties in the new academic year: research with responsibility

The opening of the academic year by Universiteit Leiden on the 4th of September 2023 was all about the climate crisis and sustainability – with the president of the Executive Board beginning her opening speech by referring to the impactful talk she just had with Extinction Rebellion activists outside. Scientists For Future, Scientist Rebellion, and End Fossil activists presented their views during the ceremony.… Read More »Fossil ties in the new academic year: research with responsibility

A first dive into Shell’s “decarbonisation” research collaborations

Shell Nederland has published a list of 137 current collaborations with academia, alongside a statement by Frans Everts claiming that Shell supports the goals of the Paris agreement and defending their continued collaboration with academia. It classifies 99 collaborations as “decarbonisation”, 36 as “generic”, and only 2 as “fossil”. What do Shell’s “decarbonisation” projects look like? In the “decarbonisation” category we find: Other hot topics are energy… Read More »A first dive into Shell’s “decarbonisation” research collaborations

Handbook for researching fossil ties at your university

We created a handbook for researching fossil (or other) ties of universities (or other institutions), based on our experiences in the Netherlands. The handbook starts with some general advice, then looks at 4 different practical approaches to finding ties. The rest is useful references: related initiatives you can reach out to, links to info or resources, and a glossary for… Read More »Handbook for researching fossil ties at your university

Panel Discussion: Cutting Ties Between Universities and the Fossil Fuel Industry: Why and How?

[this page was translated from Dutch by ChatGPT] On Monday, June 19, 2023, we organized the monthly ‘Green Idea Café‘ at Scheltema, Leiden. The evening revolved around cutting the ties between universities and the fossil fuel industry. We spoke with three individuals who are closely involved in this discussion about how these ties were formed, the pros and cons of… Read More »Panel Discussion: Cutting Ties Between Universities and the Fossil Fuel Industry: Why and How?

The Port of Rotterdam’s sustainability strategy increases methane emissions – a forgotten greenhouse gas with higher impact than CO₂

Environmental journalist Zuza Nazaruk spent the past few months chasing methane in the Port of Rotterdam, with financial support of Fonds Pascal Decroos. We supported Zuza with reporting, translation from English to Dutch, proofreading for technical correctness, and data visualistions. The article was published by Vers Beton and can be read here (in Dutch). Methane emissions are difficult to measure, but methane… Read More »The Port of Rotterdam’s sustainability strategy increases methane emissions – a forgotten greenhouse gas with higher impact than CO₂