Climate Breakdown Season 3

• Green for Whom? On Extractivism and the Energy Transition

  Speakers: Mirja Schoderer (IVM, VU Amsterdam), Thea Riofrancos.

  On October 20, 2026, the European Parliament formally adopted its negotiating stance on amendments to the Critical Raw Materials Act during the plenary session in Strasbourg. Core proposal: New Agency & Funding: Supports creating a dedicated EU critical raw materials agency backed by a €2 billion fund (modeled on Japan's JOGMEC) to take stakes in raw material companies, monitor supplies, and build strategic stockpiles. [1, 2]

  By now, the paradox of green transition is known to many: we are ditching fossil fuels to switch to critical raw materials dependency. But how does that dependency translate when looking at those at the very frontiers of extraction? And when do we distinguish between extraction and extractivism? By sharing stories from their fieldwork, collaboration with local communities, and involvement in the policy world, the speakers pass on stories of those engaged in everyday struggle. What’s at stake? By bringing in voices of those they worked with, interviewed, and/or collaborated with, the speakers paint the many shades of grey in-between the black and white extremes. 

  Through this, they point to what is missing (e.g., in policy rooms when drawing up agreements or in one’s understanding of extraction and extractivism). Lastly, M & T reflect and imagine a world led by post-extractivism: how do we shift the dependency and through what means? What are the possibilities within our reach if only we change our paradigm/way of thinking?

  Episode recorded, coming soon...

• Will Gen Z save the planet? On youth engagement in climate

  Speakers: Djoeke Siebesma (Jonge Klimaatbeweging) & Ellen Murray (Energy for Refugees) 

  How does our engagement with climate change across generations? Are we relying on the same methods or has the growing urgency cause a shift in attitudes of youth involved in climate these days? In this episode, Djoeke Siebesma from Jonge Klimaatbeweging and Ellen Murray from Energy for Refugees reflect on the reality of youth engagement in the climate transition. What are the challenges and what are the opportunities? And to what extent can we call their engagement ‘activism’? Learning from representatives of two youth climate organisations with very different approaches, while tracing similarities and lessons to be exchanged by them. 

  With the COP31 this 2026, this conversation feels particularly timely, raising an important question: how can young people's voices, perspectives, and demands meaningfully shape international climate negotiations and the future of climate action?

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• It’s Not (Only) About You: Behavioral interventions for the climate

  Speakers: Dr. Sanchayan Banerjee (King’s College London, IVM, …?) & Laurie Hermans from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management

  Behavioral interventions use psychological insights to shape decisions, from smaller plates that cut food waste to eco-settings and green menus as defaults. This episode explores why they matter for climate: demand-side changes could deliver a large share of mitigation. But focusing only on individuals falls short, so the conversation turns to systemic approaches, where policy, businesses and consumers share responsibility. It also examines why interventions lose effectiveness when scaled beyond the lab, how supplier pushback and resentment complicate rollout, and why agency, transparency and trust matter. The discussion closes on cautious, forward-looking optimism about a rapidly growing, increasingly global field.

  Episode recorded, coming soon...

Climate Breakdown Season 2

• The Green Energy Paradox: On Critical Raw Materials, Dependencies, and Circularity

  Curious to learn about the backbone of our future low-carbon economy? Worried about potential challenges and dependencies linked to the increased production and consumption of critical raw materials? Hungry for solutions? We got you covered!

  Mathieu is joined by two colleagues ⁠Lingli Zhou⁠, Assistant Professor at the Geology and Geochemistry cluster of the ⁠Earth Science Department⁠⁠ (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), and Jan Brusselaers⁠, Assistant Professor at the Environmental Economics Department of the ⁠IVM Institute for Environmental Studies (VU Amsterdam)⁠.

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• Part I: What can EU do to go green? The Shell vs Milieudefensie case [BONUS]

  On 12 November, we woke up to news of the Dutch Court of Appeal overruling District Court ruling in Shell v. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Milieudefensie⁠⁠⁠⁠ case. A real legal earthquake its caused in climate advocacy circles...  The judge decided that no specific legal obligations for emission reductions can be imposed on Shell. At the same time, some have argued that this is only a Pyrrhic victory for Shell. But what does that mean? And, most importantly, what are the implications for climate activists and the fossil fuel industry, as more and more case are brought before courts around the world...

  Mathieu is joined by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Tim Bleeker⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Assistant Professor, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Faculty of Law⁠⁠⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠Corporate Law⁠ ⁠⁠(⁠Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam⁠)⁠, and member of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Amsterdam Centre for Climate Change and the Law⁠⁠⁠⁠ to explore these questions. Join them as they take a deep dive into the fascinating world of fossil fuel litigation!

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• Part II: What can EU do to go green? Scaling up corporate climate action

  The EU is stepping up its efforts to ensure companies green their operations and meet ambitious climate goals. With policies like the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the EU is not just regulating but actively encouraging large corporations to scale up and speed up their climate engagement. But how effective are these measures? And what do they mean for businesses navigating the transition to sustainability?

  In this episode, following part I on the Shell v Milieudefensie case, Mathieu continues the conversation with ⁠Tim Bleeker⁠, Assistant Professor, ⁠Faculty of Law⁠, ⁠Corporate Law⁠ (⁠Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam⁠) and member of the ⁠Amsterdam Centre for Climate Change and the Law⁠. Join them as they dive into the EU’s green policy packages and their implications for the future of corporate climate action!

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• Transformative power of urban agriculture: Community, innovation, activism

  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 Lia van Wesenbeeck (Associate Professor, VU School of Business and Economics), 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

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• How universities can go 'fossil free': Lessons from VU Amsterdam

  In April 2023, 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? 

  Mathieu is joined by Philipp Pattberg⁠, ASI Director and Professor at Environmental Policy Analysis (IVM, VU), and ⁠Petra Verdonk⁠, Associate Professor at Amsterdam UMC and a climate activist. Together, they also reflect more broadly on the role of universities in tackling the climate crisis.

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• Saline agriculture: Turning salt into sustenance

  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 explored during this episode.

  To grasp saline agriculture to the fullest, we have welcomed two experts: Katarzyna (Kate) Negacz from IVM Institute for Environmental Studies at VU Amsterdam and 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.

  • View the Saline AgriMap
  • Learn about the SALAD Research Project
  • Interested in saline agriculture? 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".

  Listen to the episode here

Climate Breakdown Season 1

• Episode 1 – A World on Fire? The State of the Climate

  2023 was the hottest year on record. The extreme weather events that we have witnessed will become more common and more severe as the Earth further warms. What is ‘the state of the climate’ as we enter a new year? What can we expect in the (near) future and what can be done about it?

  In this episode, Mathieu is joined by professor of climate change and adaptation Bart van den Hurk , a world-leading climate scientist. Professor van den Hurk acts as Co-Chair of Working Group II for the IPCC’s seventh assessment cycle. He navigates us through the scientific knowledge on the climate crisis and the fascinating world of the IPCC.

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• Episode 2 – Lies, Lawyers and Litigation

  There’s a new tool in the toolbox of climate activists: litigation. Increasingly, fossil fuel companies and governments are being sued for their lack of climate action. It makes one wonder, what are the advantages and disadvantages of taking these companies and governments to court?

  In this episode, Mathieu is joined by two guests. VU assistant professor Clemens Kaupa is an expert in climate law. Together with students, he has launched a successful complaint with the Dutch Advertising Code Committee against Shell’s misleading advertising practices. Our second guest, Sjoukje van Oosterhout, is Lead Researcher in Milieudefensie’s ongoing landmark case against Shell.

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• Episode 3 – Beyond the Climate Crisis

  It is clear that we are not only in the midst of a climate crisis. Last year, environmental scientists warned that the earth is now ‘well outside the safe operating space for humanity’ since multiple ‘planetary boundaries’ have been broken.

  This episode is a double whammy, talking about issues beyond the climate crisis: food and biodiversity.

  In part I, Mathieu talks to Kristiaan Kok, assistant professor at the Athena Institute of VU Amsterdam and an expert in food systems governance. Together, they discuss the environmental impacts of the global food system and how to establish sustainable transformations.

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  Ina Lehmann and Marije Schaafsma join Mathieu in part II. Both work at the Institute for Environmental Studies. Ina is an assistant professor in governance of global biodiversity, Marije Schaafsma is an associate professor in environmental economics. Together they discuss the global biodiversity crisis, its links to the climate crisis and how we can try to solve both.

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• Episode 4 – Science and Activism

  Another two-parter! This is an episode on a hot topic. Can scientists and universities be activists, or must they remain neutral? What does ‘neutrality’ mean in the face of an ever-growing climate crisis, with facts and evidence about causes and consequences so abundantly clear? Does this ‘neutrality’ argument still hold up? Or, in the words of Albert Einstein, does the privilege to know, entail a duty to act?

  In part I, Mathieu is joined by professor Davide Iannuzzi, Chief Impact Officer at VU Amsterdam. He’s been leading the VU’s efforts to rethink its relations with the fossil fuel industry. These efforts resulted in a landmark decision in 2023 to break research ties with the industry.

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  In part II, Mathieu talks to Marthe Wens. As a member of Scientists Rebellion and an assistant professor in water security at the Institute for Environmental Studies of VU Amsterdam, she finds that her research and activism are inextricably linked.

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• Episode 5 – A World to Win? On Global Climate Politics

  At COP28 in December 2023, negotiators officially agreed for the first time that there is a need to ‘transition away from fossil fuels.’ Mentioning fossil fuels was deemed historic and it supposedly signalled the ‘end of the fossil fuel era’. But how historic is this decision really? And why did it take so long to politically acknowledge the role of fossil fuels in the climate crisis?

  In our final episode, VU professor Philipp Pattberg of the Institute for Environmental Studies joins Mathieu to talk about global climate politics. We try to grasp what makes climate negotiations and finding agreement at the global level so difficult. After all, aren’t we all in the same boat?

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