Dr Paul Behrens

Dr Paul Behrens is a scientist, author, and speaker working on how our energy, food, and economic systems can change fast enough to avoid the worst of the climate crisis. Behrens shares evidence‑based stories that are honest about the risks while showing where real progress is already happening.

Also a British Academy Global Professor at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, specialising in climate, energy, and food systems, his work has appeared in journals and media outlets including the BBC, The Guardian, Thomson Reuters, Politico, Nature Sustainability, Nature Energy, PNAS, Joule, Nature Food, and Nature Communications. I am an editor and author of the interdisciplinary textbook Food and Sustainability (Oxford University Press, 2020). My popular science book, The Best of Times, The Worst of Times: Futures from the Frontiers of Climate Science (Indigo Press, 2021) describes humanity’s current trajectory and possible futures in paired chapters of pessimism and hope. Behrens and his team were the winners of the inaugural International Champion at the Frontiers Planet Prize in 2023.

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