Newsletter

A new international study led by ETH Zurich and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) shows for the first time when individual glaciers around the world are expected to disappear.

The new Tier-1 supercomputer Sofia accelerates weather and climate research and enables faster, local predictions of extreme weather events.

Innovative method measures the full biological impact of contaminant mixtures Researchers at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) have developed a smart and efficient way to detect hard-to-trace pollutants and  to measure their effects on human health and the environment. In her PhD within the AMGC research group, Yiqi Su focused on polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) and xeno-oestrogens (XEs), substances that accumulate in water, soil, and even microplastics, yet often fall

(Foto VLIZ/VUB/Testerep) The final report of the four-year FWO project Testerep reveals a surprisingly rich history of the Belgian coastline. Where the North Sea now ripples, there once stretched a dynamic landscape of sandy islands, tidal channels, mudflats, and salt marshes, comparable to today’s Wadden Sea. The island of Testerep, once situated between Nieuwpoort and Ostend, formed a crucial link in that ancient barrier-island system. Researchers from the VUB, VLIZ, and KU

With FACT, we turn climate change into an opportunity to accelerate innovation. The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) is bringing together its expertise in sustainable technology within a new interdisciplinary research institute: FACT (Flanders Alliance for Climate Technology). In collaboration with industry and government, FACT aims to accelerate the transition to a climate-neutral society and drive forward technological innovation. “Sustainable innovation doesn’t happen in i

Four researchers with VUB ties contribute to the seventh IPCC report When world leaders meet in November at the UN Climate Summit in Brazil, the spotlight will once again fall on the scientific foundation of global climate policy: the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The next edition — the seventh IPCC report, to be released in 2028, will feature a notably strong Brussels presence. Four researchers with ties to the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VU

The Antarctic ice sheet is losing mass at an increasing rate due to cracks and fractures in its ice shelves. This is the conclusion of new research by Maaike Izeboud, postdoctoral researcher at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), and her colleagues from TU Delft. Their findings, published in Nature Climate Change , show how this damage has evolved over the past decades and what the consequences could be under different climate scenarios. Izeboud and her team created a uniqu

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) has further expanded its solar panel park. With the installation of 470 additional panels on Building Z of the Etterbeek campus, in collaboration with Green Spark Technics and Green Power Future, the total on the Etterbeek and Jette campuses now stands at 8,034. Step into the Climate Action Plan The expansion is part of the VUB's Climate Action Plan, which aims to equip all roofs with solar panels by 2030 and achieve full climate neutralit

An international study published in Nature  and led by ETH Zurich has, for the first time, established a direct link between the emissions of the world’s largest fossil fuel and cement producers and the rise of extreme heatwaves worldwide. Shocking findings Researchers analyzed more than 200 heatwaves between 2000 and 2023 and were able to systematically trace them back to the so-called carbon majors . The results show that climate change made heatwaves in the early 2000s twe