Red&Blue Annual Symposium

The morning program was kicked off by Ellen van Bueren (TU Delft, Red&Blue project lead). Following, the scene was set by Jeroen Aerts (IVM-VU Amsterdam) and Marco Hoogvliet (Deltares), who talked about climate science and climate action. During their presentations, they pointed out the challenges that researchers and decision-makers face while encountering a significant amount of data and methods available, and the indecisiveness that comes with it. Next, during the panel discussion, it became clear that climate science has an integral role in the decision-making processes of public and private stakeholders, but that there is a need to standardize the data and methods.

In the afternoon, Paul Gerretsen (Deltametropolis Association) gave a presentation to set the scene on the changing climate governance landscape in The Netherlands. Two rounds of impact tables followed, where different focal points of the Red&Blue project were discussed. The insights from the societal partners of the consortium enriched the conversations and discussions. Finally, Ellen van Bueren closed the event in a plenary session, where members of the advisory board encouraged the Red&Blue consortium to move forward.

It has been an interesting year since the start of the Red&Blue project, during which the objectives of the working packages have been defined. Now, the next steps are to align them and work towards actionability. As previously mentioned, presentations, panel discussions, and impact table rounds took place to jointly grow a better understanding of the implications of climate science for climate governance and real estate and infrastructure adaptation strategies.

Authors: María Fonseca, Samuel Hartman and Richard Pompoes