 In August 2018, the 16-year-old schoolgirl Greta Thunberg started a solo protest outside the Swedish parliament, against the lack of action by politicians against climate change. By early 2019, 10,000 of schoolchildren were taking part in protests across the globe, in hundreds of towns and cities, including in the Netherlands. In fact, you may have even participated in one of these protests. While the protest also received criticism, they've been backed by academics and other groups and individuals in society. They all warn against the effects of global warming and say that urgent action needs to be taken. Why is action so difficult? Why is it still lacking? What apparently is challenging here? Climate change and its effects cross the boundaries of countries, regions and cities. In fact, it's a global problem. At the same time, its effects have an enormous impact on local communities, especially in less developed countries. To address climate change, the support and capacity of a wide set of actors is necessary. Governments, companies, citizens from the global to the local level, including you and your town and city where you live. In spite of the different interests and the various perspectives all these actors have on what the problem is and how it should be solved, they all need to come together to reach agreement on common goals. Even though this is very difficult, it sometimes happens, as it was in Paris in 2015 at the United Nations Conference. Also in the European Union, member states have set targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to increase energy efficiency of buildings, and to increase energy from renewable sources, such as windmills or solar panels. In the Netherlands, a climate agreement has been negotiated, and cities and regions are in the process of developing energy strategies. In practice, however, these agreements are not always implemented, and these goals are not often reached. Parties adopt what we call a wait-and-see attitude. They all wait for other parties to take the first step. As a result, nothing really happens. What could be ways out of this puzzle? How to tackle the lack of action? Once they have gained a better understanding of the challenges, students and scholars of public governance also think about the development and the design of new and innovative governance approaches. For instance, they may consider how to ensure the participation and involvement of all individuals and groups in society. Not only a few. They also may reflect on strategies to guarantee commitment for action on all levels of governance, and they may think about mechanisms to incentivize parties to really cooperate. It is these types of complex governance challenges and the possible new approaches that are at the core of the public governance bachelor's and master's programs, and that you will learn about through discussions with fellow students as well as with experts and in both the classroom and the field. To ultimately become the leaders of the future and to take matters in your own hands.