7 years on climate and sustainability: thanks and goodbye!

Seven years ago, I started as an alderman in Eindhoven. At the same time, this bimonthly column in IO+ began. Since then, I have taken you into my world: that of climate, the energy transition and greening the city. Not through reports or policy documents, but by offering a behind-the-scenes look. How do you make choices as a public administrator? What dilemmas do you encounter? And what do those choices actually mean for you, here in the city?

Climate Log. Read some of the previous installments here.

Now, seven years later, I am continuing in a new term of office with the same themes close to my heart. But this column (read a selection here) is coming to an end.

Why? Because it is time for the next phase. The plans are in place. The ambitions are clear. Over the next four years, we will talk less and, above all, do more. We will put plans into practice. Get to work, take to the streets and deliver results. I am very much looking forward to that. And, honestly, I think you are too.

Of course, there will still be plenty to talk about. About grid congestion, climate change, the steps we are taking, and sometimes the steps that remain difficult. But the stage should now go to others: to the people who make Eindhoven what it is. The people who use the city, the doers, the innovators, the people whose ideas become reality. That is precisely where our strength lies. And that is exactly what fits IO+ so well.

In the 2026–2030 coalition agreement, Together Forward, Together at Home, we have set out where we want to go. But exactly how we get there? We will do that together. So if you have ideas for making Eindhoven even greener, more energy-efficient or climate-neutral, let your voice be heard. I am listening.

Thank you for allowing me to take you along for the past seven years.