Paul Behrens
@profpaulbehrens.bsky.social
8.2K followers 140 following 240 posts
Prof at Oxford Martin School working on food, energy, and climate change. Book: The Best of Times The Worst of Times: Futures from the Frontiers of Climate Science http://shorturl.at/lzCTZ #ClimateChange #ClimateAction
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profpaulbehrens.bsky.social
Come work with us! We’re hiring a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Food System Transformations at the University of Oxford.

This role is part of an ambitious, interdisciplinary project exploring rapid food system transformations. More details here: my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
Job Details
my.corehr.com
Reposted by Paul Behrens
michaelemann.bsky.social
I urge all policymakers to attend this vital briefing on the climate & nature crisis, which brings the latest science from leading experts straight to the people in power. I’d like to see one in every country, & the organizers are open to sharing the model. More info: www.nebriefing.org
National Emergency Briefing on climate & nature
An unfiltered assessment of the latest threats arising from the climate & nature crisis to an invite-only audience. Westminster Central Hall, 27 November. Has your MP confirmed yet?
www.nebriefing.org
Reposted by Paul Behrens
nebriefing.bsky.social
📢 Britain faces a climate & nature emergency.
On 27 Nov, eight leading experts will brief 800+ leaders from politics, business, culture, faith & media.

An unfiltered overview of the latest threats & solutions.
Only by facing it can we rise to the challenge.
www.nebriefing.org
National Emergency Briefing on climate & nature
The time for warnings is over. This is a briefing for the age of impacts. Please ask your MP to attend.
www.nebriefing.org
profpaulbehrens.bsky.social
We are at a crucial moment. This could be a tipping point for decision makers across society in understanding both the scale of what we’re facing in the climate and nature crises, and critically, the pathways available to address them.
profpaulbehrens.bsky.social
Speaking alongside Lt General Richard Nugee CB CVO CBE, Hugh Montgomery OBE, Rachael Garrett, Hayley Fowler, Tim Lenton, Angela Francis, Kevin Anderson - we'll be briefing decision makers on where the UK stands and what comes next.
profpaulbehrens.bsky.social
On November 27th I'll join colleagues briefing an invite only audience of politicians and leaders from business, culture, and faith on with the latest implications on health, food, national security and the economy in our changing climate and nature crisis.
profpaulbehrens.bsky.social
This could be a tipping point for decision makers across the UK: we're holding a National Emergency Briefing on the Climate and Nature crisis for national leaders at Westminster Central Hall, and you can help!...🧵
Reposted by Paul Behrens
annieleymarie.bsky.social
Another succinct explanation by @profpaulbehrens.bsky.social of the many reasons it makes sense to shift to plant-rich diets before the polycrisis forces us to do so anyway - thus helping to stall the crisis!
tabledebates.bsky.social
🥦 Is eating more plants in the future actually a choice? 🥦

@paulbehrens.bsky.social breaks down how the plant-based future will arrive in this #FoodTakes video with @rebelwrit.bsky.social

Watch the full video here: buff.ly/SJ1L1EY

@oxfutureoffood.bsky.social @oxmartinschool.bsky.social
Reposted by Paul Behrens
tabledebates.bsky.social
🥦 Is eating more plants in the future actually a choice? 🥦

@paulbehrens.bsky.social breaks down how the plant-based future will arrive in this #FoodTakes video with @rebelwrit.bsky.social

Watch the full video here: buff.ly/SJ1L1EY

@oxfutureoffood.bsky.social @oxmartinschool.bsky.social
profpaulbehrens.bsky.social
Ah yes, see attached! Trend-wise we can safely assume difficult years ahead due to climate as the crop/climate modelling shows. Open question is when we'll start to see that in the overall figures. Stagnation is also a sign of impacts as all other things being equal we'd expect some increases.
profpaulbehrens.bsky.social
The problem is politics but the science is clear that healthy, sustainable diets mean many wins. There are some 'green shoots' in the relatively recent UK government food strategy which recommends more veg and fruits. But we could be moving much faster (e.g. 2021 National Food Strategy).
profpaulbehrens.bsky.social
This is a fundamental coordination challenge. If the UK aligned its food strategy—pairing dietary shifts with land-use policy—we could hit our biodiversity ambitions (freeing up almost the size of Scotland for nature when shifting to healthy diets!) and bolster food security.
profpaulbehrens.bsky.social
If dietary change to plant-rich diets doesn’t keep pace with the reduction in farmland, we simply shift the burden abroad — importing more food and putting strain on other, often nature-rich, landscapes.
profpaulbehrens.bsky.social
On the second point: more of our arable land could return to nature in the coming years, thanks to environmental schemes aiming to restore ecosystems and address biodiversity loss. While these efforts, and rewilding in particular, are vital, we must not overlook a crucial domino effect.
profpaulbehrens.bsky.social
The UK is on track for another year of poor harvests. It's starting to become a familiar story - driven mostly by climate change and a smaller amount of shifting land use...🧵

www.ft.com/content/7376...
profpaulbehrens.bsky.social
Thanks Christo, we do take manure management into account at a high level (whether it is stored etc) but we do rely on broader nitrogen intensity statistics in terms of application and uptake. The paper is open source if you’d like to find out more
profpaulbehrens.bsky.social
🌍 We can see the hotspots across Europe driven by both production and consumption, helping researchers and policymakers investigate different interventions at the same time to support transitions to healthier and more sustainable food systems.
profpaulbehrens.bsky.social
🌽 Maize, barley, permanent grasses, and rapeseed, account for 71% of crop emissions or 14% of total emissions.
📖 The dataset is open access so please build upon it.
profpaulbehrens.bsky.social
🌮 We can now see, at fine scale, which products drive ammonia pollution.
🐄 In 2017, European agriculture emitted 3.5 teragrams of ammonia-N. Just a handful of products – dairy cattle, other cattle and pigs driving 66% of the total.
profpaulbehrens.bsky.social
We have built a new high-resolution, product-specific dataset including crops and livestock to investigate how to reduce Ammonia across Europe called AP-AMMO. A few details...
profpaulbehrens.bsky.social
A couple of stats:
➡️ Around 2.6 million years of life are lost due to ammonia-driven air pollution in Europe! As the energy system decarbonises agriculture is becoming the largest driver.
➡️ Biodiversity limits for nitrogen are exceeded across 66% of European agricultural land by Ammonia.