Climate Literacy
About the research group
The Climate Literacy research group seeks to provide sound basic knowledge and customised climate information. Managers and professionals employed in such sectors as urban design, the energy transition, and urban welfare will be able to use this knowledge and information to make better decisions. But citizens will benefit from this knowledge and information too. To enhance their climate literacy, they need expertise from a range of fields. The expertise of the AUAS and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute have been brought together in this research group.
Research questions
We have formulated two research questions that contribute knowledge for the climate transition:
1. What climate information and data are needed to be able to operate in a climate-conscious manner and to take the right decisions in the climate transition?
2. How can climate information and data be presented in such a way that it is interpreted correctly, is usable, and increases climate literacy?
Methodology
The Climate Literacy research group seeks to build bridges between multiple research disciplines and between research and practice. That is why we have structural partnerships with other AUAS research groups, including Climate Resilient City, Psychology for Sustainable Cities, Visual Methodologies, and various businesses, social organisations, and government bodies. The starting point for our research is that of specific issues from the practical arena.
Link with teaching
We believe it important that the professionals of the future, such as those currently studying at the AUAS, acquire a sound basic knowledge of climate change. The research group contributes towards the teaching at the AUAS in the form of guest lectures and the supervision of students. In addition, the research group is developing online course material on the climate, climate data, the use of scenarios, and communications relating to climate change that can be easily incorporated into other subjects, but which can also be used for the training of professionals (the AUAS ‘Lifelong Development’ track). The research group is involved with the ambitions of the AUAS management with regard to the theme of sustainability and, for all AUAS students, with teaching about sustainability in relation to climate.
The AUAS and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute
The research group is funded through the Lectorposities bij instituten (L.INT) scheme of the Taskforce for Applied Research SIA. This scheme involves a professor working at both a university of applied sciences and a research institute. In this case, professor Janette Bessembinder is combining research by the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute with the practice-based research of the university of applied sciences - crucial for making the move from knowledge to innovation.
The mission of the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute (KNMI) is to advise and warn society of risks in relation to the weather, climate, and seismology in order to reduce these risks. New climate scenarios for the Netherlands were presented in 2023. The KNMI climate scenarios are used in many sectors, but it notes that the intended users of the information from these scenarios and the supporting material that goes with them are not always aware of it; nor is it always correctly interpreted. More information about the effectiveness of communication methods and the issuing of climate information would help the KNMI in carrying out its mission. The Climate Literacy research group helps improve this by combining the KNMI’s knowledge with that of various research groups and programmes at the AUAS.