Blog English
Blog English · 25. Juni 2023
"There is no river nearby that could overflow its banks, only a small stream. Extreme heavy rains are also extremely rare and very small-scale. We won't be affected by that." And heat? "Well, we've had a few hot summers now and then, but it won't be like this every time. Let's hope the next one will be moderate. Other countries, especially in the south, such as Spain, Italy, Greece or Africa, are actually experiencing increasingly serious problems," is what I often hear when I talk to friends,...
Blog English · 15. März 2023
that may sound sensible, because if we can't stop climate change, then we should fully concentrate on climate adaptation, right? What other choice do we have? You may look at it that way, But if we cease all efforts to mitigate climate change, we will end up with a 4 or even more degree scenario instead of the targeted 1.5-2 degrees increase of global temperature. Even the latter will lead to considerable climate risks here and worldwide. Events such as the disastrous flooding event in the...
Blog English · 01. Januar 2023
Yes, we have replaced light bulbs with LED bulbs, bought more energy-efficient equipment and machines, and turned down our room temperature. All this helps to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and to curb climate change. We have adapted to the new situation. But, this is not climate change adaptation or, in longhand, adaptation to the consequences of climate change. Despite all efforts to mitigate climate change, at best we are reducing the change to a global temperature increase of 1.5...
Blog English · 11. November 2022
New ideas from the GreenQuays project start stretching beyond the initial plans. I have already talked earlier about the GreenQuays project of EU Urban Innovative Action in Breda, where the city daylights its old river and develops a new technology to green the vertical quay wall - the Nature-Inclusive Quays (NIQ). Here, plants will grow directly in the joints and niches on the wall, as they often do spontaneously in/on old, weathered walls. As an UIA expert, I advise the city here. While most...
Blog English · 05. August 2022
Reducing energy costs during heatwaves and maintaining work performance Yesterday, a colleague called me - 32 degrees Celsius in his office, but only 24 degrees in mine. How can that be? Germany, Europe is suffering from heatwaves this summer and discussions on climate change are once again up with people and governments. Apart from the general and very serious consequences such as cardiovascular problems, heat stroke, death of people, and further fuelling devastating forest fires, the heat...
Blog English · 13. Mai 2022
As some of you may know, I am part of the technical evaluation team for the European Green Capital and the European Green Leaf Award, responsible to look at cities’ climate change adaptation actions. Usually, that means ...
Blog English · 19. September 2021
I was on a journey from Frankfurt to North Rhine-Westfalia on 15 July and wondering about massive delays and cuts in train travel before I learned that the night before, super heavy rainfall led have posed torrential floods in parts of Germany. More than 180 people died, homes, roads, and other infrastructure has been washed away in the unprecedent flooding, and with it, people’s and businesses’ existences – while I was just struggling with a few hours of delay. How could that happen in...
Blog English · 24. August 2021
I am very happy to collaborate with the municipality of Breda and its partners on developing nature-inclusive quays (NIQ) in the GreenQuays project. It is exciting to see how an old and covered river will be daylighted and bring a lot of nature into the dense medieval city centre. The scarce space imposes, however, a big challenge. The river will flow through vertical quay walls. One could think of greening them like green facades, but Breda has different intentions. Inspired by nature that...
Blog English · 19. August 2021
Nature-based solutions are becoming quite popular for cities as they are able to deliver many benefits – providing space for nature, for leisure and sports activities, play and social interaction, they increase people’s health, make cities attractive, and reduce the impacts of flooding and heat waves. Greater Manchester has identified that a major uplift of its green infrastructure can substantially contribute to reducing these risks. But how to implement nature-based solutions at large...
Blog English · 08. Juni 2020
It was raining slightly, and I was on the way to my first meetings with team members of the EU Urban Innovative Action project GreenQuays in Breda, The Netherlands, that I am happy to support as external expert. Actually, I should be writing about the inspiring project on the nature-inclusive quays and I definitely will!!! However, as for this morning, other urban green caught my attention: How often have I heard already that green in narrow and historical streets is difficult to establish or...