Tackling Climate Change Together

With one quarter of its area under sea level, the Netherlands is especially vulnerable to water threats posed by climate change.  Out of necessity, we are leaders in adapting to and mitigating the affects of climate change through innovative and proactive solutions to rising sea levels, droughts and increasingly violent and inconsistent weather that destabilizes the world’s coastal and water-bound areas.

We are working with the United States to explore ways to “climate proof” America’s shores, water-ways and cities, as part of a holistic response to climate change.  Both countries share best-practices in climate change adaption to develop advanced water storage strategies, water management technologies, promote sustainable cities, and secure long-term commercial and agricultural growth.

• The San Francisco and the Bay Area represent one of America’s most important economic and cultural centers – and an area that is highly vulnerable to climate change. City of San Francisco officials and Dutch researchers and engineering firms are developing smart solutions to help make the region more resilient to the impacts of rising sea levels.
• Dutch knowledge and guidance is helping California protect the flood-prone Sacramento Delta and California Bay Delta from rising water and increased flooding caused by climate change. This will ensure that one of the world’s most important agricultural regions, with a fragile ecosystem that is under threat of development, will continue to drive of trade and economic growth.
• The Netherlands and the United States are bringing together the best and the brightest to address water challenges posed by climate change. Partnerships between American universities – including the University of California and Louisiana State University – and institutions in the Netherlands unite our smartest academics, researchers and scientists to study the implications of climate change on low-lying areas.