For Peter-Paul Verbeek, USP is a formula that the UvA should copy elsewhere. Verbeek: “I think the experiences here really show us that we need not only societal engagement and academic input, but also a place to meet, a home base, and I think that's part of the magic of USP.”

Verbeek sketched the contours of a new plan for a UvA-wide program on climate change. Rather than calling it a full announcement, he preferred to define it as ‘the beginning of an announcement’. 

But the decision is clear. Verbeek: “We’ve decided to invest 1 million euros in a program UvA-wide on climate change to enable us, in the full width of the university, to contribute to how we, as a society, can deal with this huge issue.” 

To ensure that the theme is more broadly integrated across faculties, in every faculty somebody will be playing a leading role in connecting the work of their faculty to the university-wide program. They will collaborate with the University Professor to shape the establishment of an interdisciplinary research program focused on climate change solutions. Verbeek mentioned particularly the energy transition and the protein transition as two of the main fields, adding that more might follow later.

It's all about making choices

André Nollkaemper, founder of USP and University Professor of International Law and Sustainability, looked back at COP28 saying that he as a lawyer was not too impressed by the phrasing ‘transitioning away’ without any commitments. This makes it all the more important, according to him, what researchers can do to propel our understanding of what is needed. To get a good overview of what already is being done at UvA, Nollkaemper did some, of what he calls, ‘forensic research’.

Nollkaemper came to these three conclusions:

1. The true cutting edge of USP and the UvA lies in the combination of all pieces of the puzzle.
2. This does not grow organically. People do their own things, which is great, but to forge this together we need some form of coordination I think this is exactly what USP is for. 
3. If you want to make a mark we have to choose because we can spread ourselves very thin and do tons of interesting things, but if you want to make a difference we have to make some choices.

“This way,” according to Nollkaemper, “we can really join forces and make a difference and give some impetus to the agenda that COP28 could not make.”

The knowledge is there, but needs to be shared

One of the attendants, Jan Willem Bolderdijk, Professor of Sustainability and Marketing, was inspired by the event. He got to know a lot of researchers working on similar ideas but in different fields, and many new people working in practice. Bolderdijk: “What I was a bit surprised about is that the knowledge that we take for granted is not there at the practitioners. So there's an opportunity to create more impact, not by doing new research, but by making sure that the results that are already there can be used in the world to make a difference.”