Climate Initiative Northern Netherlands

Our climate is changing — and that change has a huge effect on our lives. Not just on our weather, but on our ecosystem, the condition of our soil, our food supplies, our health and our safety.

We will have to adapt to the effects of climate change, and we will have to do it together. Government, academia, education, social institutions and the business community in the Northern Netherlands are therefore already working together intensively on climate adaptation.

The city of Groningen is the main urban centre of the Northern Netherlands, thanks to a variety of research institutions, such as the University of Groningen and the Hanze University of Applied Sciences, knowledge networks and a large number of innovative companies and start-ups. Together with a young, highly educated population, Groningen and the Northern Netherlands have all it take to carry out experiments and initiate living labs – both in the city and its surroundings. In 2013, Groningen was voted “greenest city of the Netherlands”. Groningen strives to maintain the high quality of life, also with the advent of new challenges like climate change.

This website shows those innovative cooperative efforts and initiatives already in progress; research and knowledge sharing; new connections and existing (inter)national networks; and specific projects and results.

The Northern Netherlands aren’t working this hard on climate adaptation solely for our own residents. The knowledge and experience we gain here are essential for other parts of the world as well, especially deltas, areas below sea level, and agricultural regions. Discover the strength of the Northern Netherlands as a living laboratory for climate adaptation!