Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is a promising method for removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and simultaneously generating energy. Yet this method is controversial, as it may require a great deal of land and water. Researchers at Leiden University have now proposed a…

The 14 universities, brought together in the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU), have expressed their support for the open letter on the climate that has already been signed by almost 1,300 staff members. The letter calls on the universities to pursue an ambitious climate agenda of…

A plant-based diet could improve the resilience of our food system. Moving to such a diet in the European Union (EU) and United Kingdom (UK) alone could replace almost all the production losses from Russia and Ukraine. That’s what an international team of researchers conclude in Nature Food. Leiden…

On Thursday 9 november, Reijer Passchier defended his dissertation 'Informal constitutional change'. His supervisor is Professor Wim Voermans.

To what extent and how do identity processes influence health behavior?

Roel Wouters (24), a biology student at Leiden University, is a finalist in the election for UN youth delegate for Biodiversity and Food. The digital polls open for a week on Friday 22 October. Under-30s can vote for Roel at www.stemroel.nl.

On 8 April, Michael Sampson and Shiming Yang, from the new GTGC Seed Grant project 'Transformations in Global Climate Finance' presented on their research set-up and engaged in a discussion with the audience.

The Indonesian Experience after the Fall of Suharto

Despite the rapid progress in solar and wind energy, a completely clean energy supply remains a huge challenge. Heavy industry, aviation, shipping and road transport are not yet able to do without carbon-based fuels. To reach the climate goals, in these industries energy consumption should be CO2 neutral. In…

Postdoctoral researcher Joost de Moor, who joined the interdisciplinary Global Transformations and Governance Challenges (GTGC) initiative at Leiden University since April 2021, will spend 50% of his time doing research for the project

Explaining cutback management strategies in public sector organisations: change leadership in times of crisis. How does the publicness of organisations affect the choice and implementation of cutback management strategies?

The car we buy is made out of thousands of components, which are produced using different types of materials. These materials need to be sourced from different places, sent to production facilities and assembled. Once the car is dismissed, the components need to be taken care of by either reusing, recycling…

If European countries rely solely on technological advances, they won't be able to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees. Households will also need to change their lifestyles. This 'inconvenient truth' is the result of calculations done by industrial ecologist Stephanie Cap. ‘It's not a popular message,…

On the 13th of October, Cesko Voeten successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Cesko on this achievement!

The origins of Surinamese rice, a digital twin of the Earth and a large big-data project in the Chilean sky: three Leiden scientists receive an ENW-KLEIN grant for innovative, fundamental research.

Religion is everywhere. Knowledge of religion is essential for anyone who wants to understand the world. If you are fascinated by the diversity of religions, their development throughout history and their meaning today – both in people’s personal lives and in society – the minor Religion in a Changing…

This minor critically examines the complexities of food sustainability through ecological, socio-economic, political, and cultural systems.

As every academic year, the leadership team of the Young Academy Leiden is changing. As of September 2021, Dr. Annemarie Samuels (Associate Professor, Social and Behavioural Sciences), former Vice-Chair, will be the Chair of YAL. And Dr. Sarah Giest (Assistant Professor, Governance and Global Affairs)…

Evaluating the environmental consequences of diet changes in the European Union.

Vast, often populated, areas in dryland ecosystems face the dangers of desertification.

Promotor: E. Gittenberger, Co-promotores: B.W. Hoeksema; L.P. van Ofwegen

Do you have any questions about the minor Sustainability, Climate Change and Food? Please contact us!

On 19 July 2021, Nathan de Arriba-Sellier published an op-ed in Le Monde regarding the integration of climate change in the new monetary policy strategy of the European Central Bank (ECB).

In the honours course Sustainability & Health, students examine the causes and effects of climate change – but also how they can relate to these themselves. How do you build resilience in turbulent times? An excursion focused on silence and compassion helps students with this challenge.

With the retirement of Wil Roebroeks, Gerrit Dusseldorp will take his place as the archaeological representative in the Liveable Planet Interdisciplinary Programme as an Associate Professor. An expert on the behaviour of early human hunter-gatherers, he will look at the interaction between humans and…

Didactics

The European Court of Human Rights recently ruled in favour of a group of older Swiss women. The issued concerned the health of senior citizens, especially women, who experienced symptoms as a result of climate change. They claimed that the Swiss Government should have taken more climate action, as…

Which traits did change due to the invasion process of plants and how do these traits contribute to the invasiveness of such species. What is the role of carbohydrate accumulation? What is the function of carbohydrate accumulation in plants? Is genetic variation depleted in invasive species under se…

In this minor you will explore grand challenges such as climate change, intensified disaster, cybercrime, and risks associated with new technologies, and look for possible ways forward. Unique to this minor is its multidisciplinary approach, where you learn to combine a unique blend of social sciences…

On May 20th, Joost de Moor took part in a panel that examined what is (not) unique about the recent waves of climate mobilization, as well as the question of engagement with or opposition to formal global sustainability governance institutions.

Researchers from the Institute of Public Administration study the mechanism of lobbying and influencing political parties and the behaviour of these parties to see how solutions are found to problems. This enables them to reach conclusions as to how best to effect changes in political focus and poli…

Archaeological heritage management is concerned with the identification, protection, management and preservation of the material remains of human activity in the past (of whatever period and in whichever region of the world) and with the interaction that this involves with all kinds of stakeholders.

This thesis describes the use of the evolutionary approach in the study of language change, aiming to provide a better insight in the mechanisms that play a role in language change and to validate this approach in the field of language change.

Cooperation is the solution to international problems, demonstrated the final seminar of the Master Honours Class ‘Smart Regional Integration’ – even when it is sometimes easier said than done. “You can see the students struggle with that.”

Abrupt Climate Change and Cultural Transformation

If mankind wants to survive into the 22nd century, we will need to change the way we live drastically. The human impact on our planet is everywhere, we are changing the atmosphere, the oceans and the land, leading to global warming, climate change, loss of biodiversity and pervasive pollution. There…

Sarah Giest, Assistant Professor at Leiden University, and Ishani Mukherjee researched the topic of 'Behavioural Insights Teams (BITs) and Policy Change: An Exploration of Impact, Location, and Temporality of Policy Advice'.

This study explores the role of linguistic data in the reconstruction of Dolgan (pre)history by analyzing contact-induced changes and using them to infer information about the nature of the contact settings in which they occurred.

Food security is challenged by a growing global population and by climate change. Drought and soil salinity are considered the most important ones that inhibit crop yield and distribution. Worryingly, climate change is predicted to increase not only their frequency and severity, but also their co-occurrence,…

One of the effects of climate change is the phenomenon of desertification, a process that occurs in semi-arid and arid areas and causes land degradation as well as vegetation loss. Due to the lack of resources, vegetation self-organizes to sustain itself by forming large-scale spatial patterns.

This article argues that opposition to government green investments is conditional on the method of financing.

HOME will search for a diversity of Palaeolithic shelters during the Late Pleistocene through informed systematic surveys and excavations of archaeological sites in East-Central Europe.

Public organizations have been confronted with severe budget cuts as a result of the most recent crisis. Public managers are tasked with the implementation of cutbacks. Using different case studies within Dutch ministries and the prison sector, we assess public managers’ change leadership in times of…

One day you feel inspired by a field trip, the next you are a speaker at TEDxLeidenUniversity. It happened to International Relations student Alexia. How did she end up on stage – and why did she want to? Alexia shares her story with us. ‘I was given hope, and I wanted to share it with others.’