Climate Breakdown

The Climate Breakdown Podcast is back! We have a special episode for you which marks a very special moment. On 12 December 2015, the world came together to adopt a landmark climate accord — the Paris Agreement — aimed at limiting global warming to well below 2°C and pursuing efforts to keep it under 1.5°C. Ten years later, where do we stand?In this special episode, two leading experts from the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) reflect on the journey since the Paris Agreement’s adoption. Our Climate Breakdown host, Paulina Raniecka, is joined by Dr. Mathieu Blondeel (Assistant Professor Energy & Climate Politics, IVM, VU Amsterdam) and Dr. Oscar Widerberg (Associate Professor Environmental Politics & Policy, IVM, VU Amsterdam). They discuss the evolution of global environmental governance over the past decade, examine how the shifting political landscape has influenced climate action, and offer candid insights into the successes, shortcomings, and lessons learned from the Agreement.This episode is a teaser for Season 3 of the Climate Breakdown podcast, launching in early 2026. To celebrate the kick-off, we surprise our guest speakers with questions submitted by colleagues from the Institute for Environmental Studies and students of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. This episode was originally recorded in a video format. We kindly invite you to check it out on our YouTube channel. Questions or want to know more? Visit our  website or e-mail us at [email protected] credits: Patrick Perkins ©Podcast produced by the The Audiovisual Centre (AVC) at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Edits by Ben Wolters.

What is saline agriculture and why has it been recently gaining attention? Is it a new phenomenon or something we have lived with for centuries? Should we see it as a challenge or an opportunity? These are some of the questions at the basis of this episode.
To grasp saline agriculture to the fullest, we have welcomed two experts: Dr. Katarzyna (Kate) Negacz from IVM Institute for Environmental Studies at VU Amsterdam and Dr. Bastiaan Bruning from the Salt Doctors. Our guest speakers clarify the world of saline agriculture through their extensive expertise and share their experience working with salinity in a diversity of contexts. Get inspired by their stories and the ongoing saline-related projects Kate and Bas mention. Tune in!
View the Saline AgriMap
Learn about the SALAD Research Project
Interested in saline agriculture? Why not join SUSTAIN Network, open to anyone!
Read the FAO guidelines co-authored by Dr. Bruning: "Farmers' guidelines on soil and water management in salt-affected areas".
Questions or want to know more? Visit our  website or e-mail us at [email protected]
Photo credits: Patrick Perkins ©
Podcast production: Daniël van de Poppe / Spraakmaker Media
We would like to share our thanks to our colleagues at the Amsterdam Sustainability Institute: Milica Mijailović, Neele van den Bongardt, and Philipp Pattberg.

In April 2023, our very own VU Amsterdam became the second university in the world to ⁠cut research ties⁠ with the fossil fuel industry⁠⁠. The decision, and the launch of its ⁠⁠⁠Fossil Free Campaign, caused quite a stir among Dutch universities and in (inter)national media.

But how did this decision come about? And, perhaps more importantly, what happens after such a groundbreaking decision is made? Because, let's be honest, that's when the hard work starts...

Mathieu is joined by friend of the pod Professor Philipp Pattberg⁠ and ⁠Dr. Petra Verdonk⁠. Petra is Associate Professor at Amsterdam UMC, climate activist, and has been of trailblazers in the early days of the campaign. Together, they also reflect more broadly on the role of universities in tackling the climate crisis.

How can we, as citizens, contribute to the co-production of energy futures? How can we create spaces for alternative narratives that focus on inclusion of more vulnerable citizens and aim for a more just energy transition? Can we bring the energy transition and energy production closer to the people?

Energy cooperatives are a form of decentralized, non-governmental initiatives of local communities and citizens to promote the production and consumption of renewable energy. Learn from our speaker what role energy cooperatives can play in an energy transition, both in the Dutch context and beyond. Tune in to tackle these critical questions and more.

In this episode, Mathieu is joined by two speakers practically engaged in energy cooperatives - Siward Zomer, the chair of Energie Samen, an umbrella organization and advocacy organization representing all energy cooperatives and collective energy initiatives in the Netherlands, and Eduardo Muniz Pereira Urias, Assistant Professor at the Athena Institute of VU Amsterdam exploring how the integration of action-oriented, agency-driven participatory and transdisciplinary approaches may contribute to more just and inclusive sustainability transitions.

Questions or want to know more? Visit our  website or e-mail us at [email protected]

Photo credits: Patrick Perkins ©

Podcast production: Daniël van de Poppe / Spraakmaker Media

We would like to share our thanks to our colleagues at the Amsterdam Sustainability Institute: Milica Mijailović, Neele van den Bongardt, and Philipp Pattberg.

What do we understand by the term 'urban agriculture'? Who can 'do' urban agriculture? To what extent can we call it a 'radical' activity? Learn about the diversity of initiatives that can be grouped under this term and about the transformation they can bring to the way we farm, plant, and connect with others in the society. Get inspired and start the change one garden tile at a time.

In this episode, our host Paulina is joined by two speakers - a VU scholar, VU scholar Lia van Wesenbeeck (School of Business and Economics | Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) alongside Edu Hernandez Nualart, farmer and activist from PLUK! Groenten van West (a project of Cityplot).

Learn more about Lia's ongoing project she mentions in the episode - Feed4Food.

Visit the interactive UA maps of Amsterdam: Stadslandbouw by the Municipality of Amsterdam and maps developed by Gabi Murillo & Toby Jones

Questions or want to know more? Visit our  website or e-mail us at [email protected]

Photo credits: Patrick Perkins ©

Podcast production: Daniël van de Poppe / Spraakmaker Media

We would like to share our thanks to our colleagues at the Amsterdam Sustainability Institute: Milica Mijailović, Neele van den Bongardt, and Philipp Pattberg.