UK - Wageningen UR - Wageningen UR

Projects

Determining Europe's greenhouse gas balance

Eight Dutch knowledge institutes, including Alterra and Wageningen University, both part of Wageningen UR, work together on climate research for a large European project ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observing System). A measuring infrastructure is set up for research on the greenhouse gas balance of Europe. This will give more certainty about how and how much greenhouse gas is released into the atmosphere and how much is absorbed again, on land or at sea.

Big European climate research project

Tracing cow's methane emissions via the milk

There is a link between the milk composition and methane emission of a cow. Methane is the main greenhouse gas produced by cows but it is difficult to measure the quantity of gas an individual cow produces. While looking for ways to reduce the methane emissions through changes in feed, researchers at Wageningen University, part of Wageningen UR, discovered that the fatty acid composition in the milk also changed. It turned out that the fatty acid composition can be used as an indicator for methane emission. The scientists hope that this will result in an accurate and affordable measuring method for methane emissions.

Methane emissions of cows

25 January 2012

Wageningen University collaborates with China on carbon cycle research

The chairgroup Meteorology and Air Quality at Wageningen University will intensify its collaboration with Nanjing University, China. Over the next three years, seven researchers will collaborate on

more News

more Calendar

Tropical forests grew faster in past decades

Carbon sequestration in tropical forests has increased in recent decades. In that way forests have slightly tempered climate change. Dr. Pieter Zuidema of Wageningen University is studying when the increased growth rate (and carbon capturing) of tropical trees started. He also looks into possible causes of the growth spurt. This should lead to better predictions of how tropical forests will respond to climate changes in the future.

Predicting the future

World Delta Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia

Registration for the World Delta Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, held from November 21 until 24, 2011, is now open.

Website World Delta Summit

Our experts

“With the system of monitoring by means of masts and an airplane which we have developed in Wageningen, we can determine the source of greenhouse emissions at any location.”
Pavel Kabat
“Climate change is first and foremost a development issue and not an environmental issue.”
Jan Verhagen
“Measures to reduce emissions are only effective if they have support and are applied, either to the company or to the individual. They have to be feasible and cost-neutral.”
Agnes van den Pol
“It is of the utmost importance that the sectors of the Dutch economy adapt to climate change in time and that the government facilitates the adaptation measures.”
Ekko van Ierland
“Without additional policy, the liberalisation of world trade will lead to a sharp rise in greenhouse gases from the agricultural sector.”
Rene Verburg
“It will take decades for the sea level to rise significantly, but the effects of temperature changes in the ocean are already measureable. This causes problems but also creates opportunities.”
Han Lindeboom
“It is precisely the association of multidisciplinary research such as that taking place at Wageningen which shows that climate change offers chances as well as threats.”
Pier Vellinga
“Living with climate change demands solution-oriented science without the dominance of a single discipline. Gathering knowledge is not enough - we have to move towards ‘adaptation science'.”
Holger Meinke
“Wageningen has played a pioneering role in climate change research.”
Rik Leemans
“Human beings experience climate change primarily on land at the lowest level of the atmosphere, and it is just on this subject that Wageningen has a lot of expertise.”
Bert Holtslag