Paul Behrens
Assistant Professor
- Name
- Dr. P.A. Behrens
- Telephone
- +31 70 800 9332
- p.a.behrens@luc.leidenuniv.nl
Paul's work focuses on the environmental impact of human consumption, and his research on climate change, energy, and food has appeared in leading scientific journals. His work has appeared in leading scientific journals. Paul is passionate about science communication and his work has appeared in many international outlets such as The New York Times, the BBC, and Scientific American. Paul has recently finished a textbook on Food Sustainability, published with Oxford University Press. His popular science book about our environmental future The Best of Times, The Worst of Times will be published in July 2020 by Indigo Press.
More information about Paul Behrens
PhD candidates
News
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Tsinghua and Leiden researchers find that China is crucial for realising a circular economy -
Dietary guidelines in these six countries are a win-win-win for nutrition, environment, and animals -
Discoverer of the Year Paul Behrens: ‘We’re running out of time’ -
Cucurachi, Behrens and Matthee are teacher, discoverer, and PhD candidate of 2018 -
Dr. Paul Behrens nominated for ''Science Discoverer of the Year'' Award -
Media on sustainable energy space uptake -
Transition to renewable energy requires more space - but it will be much cleaner
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Media on environmental impact of food research by Paul Behrens -
How a nationally recommended diet can improve the environment -
Paul Behrens in international media with warning climate change -
Climate change poses threat to European electricity production -
Interview Mare: Microplastics are everywhere, we don't know yet if that does no harm -
Dr. Kiefte-de Jong and Dr. Bosker, Assistant Professors at LUC, both awarded LUF Awards
Science Commentary
Biography
Paul Behrens is an Assistant Professor in Energy and Environmental Change. Enabling the flourishing of human societies within environmental constraints such as climate change will be a critical global challenge for many decades to come. Paul’s research focuses on the energy-climate nexus using tools such as environmentally-extended, input-output analysis. Recent projects include estimating the impact of energy policy on environmental, social, and economic systems.
A physicist by training, Paul has worked in several different fields, including; boundary layer meteorology, astronomy, acoustics, and science policy. Paul received his Masters in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Sheffield (U.K.) after conducting research on broad absorption line quasars at the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes in the Canary Islands (Spain). His Ph.D. is from the University of Auckland (New Zealand), where he developed acoustic remote sensing instrumentation to better situate wind turbines for the New Zealand energy utility, Mighty River Power. After his Ph.D., Paul provided expert scientific advice to the New Zealand government on environmental sustainability, language policy, GMOs, among other topics, at the Royal Society of New Zealand. He is passionate about science communication and was a National Radio New Zealand Science Commentator. He has worked in industry, NGOs, and academia.
Academic Expertise:
- Energy systems and climate change
- Renewable energy technologies
- Environmentally-extended Input-output modelling
- Energy policy
- Physics
Courses:
- Energy Science
- Alternative Energy Strategies
- Physics
- Statistics
- Sustainability
Assistant Professor
- Faculty Governance and Global Affairs
- Leiden University College
Work address
Anna van BuerenpleinAnna van Buerenplein 301
2595 DG The Hague
Room number 4.10
Contact
Lecturer / guest
- Wiskunde en Natuurwetenschappen
- Centrum voor Milieuwetenschappen Leiden
- Behrens P.A. (2020), Energy. In: Behrens P.A., Bosker T., Ehrhardt D.W.L. (Eds.) Food and Sustainability. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Kiefte J.C. & Behrens P.A. (2020), Nutrition. In: Behrens P.A, Bosker T., Ehrhardt D.W.L. (Eds.) Food and Sustainability. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Behrens P.A., Bosker T. & Ehrhardt D.W.L. (2020), Food and Sustainability. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Bosker T., Behrens P.A & Ehrhardt D.W.L. (2020), Introduction. In: Behrens P.A., Bosker T., Ehrhardt D.W.L. (Eds.) Food and Sustainability. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Behrens P.A. & Niles M. (2020), Climate Change. In: Behrens P.A, Bosker T., Ehrhardt D.W.L. (Eds.) Food and Sustainability.: Oxford University Press.
- Behrens P.A. (2020), The Best of Times, The Worst of Times: Futures from the Frontiers of Climate Science. London: The Indigo Press.
- Usubiaga-Liaño A., Behrens P. & Daioglou V. (2020), Energy use in the global food system, Journal of Industrial Ecology .
- Behrens P.A., Bosker T. & Ehrhardt D.W.L. (2020), Summary: a view towards the future. In: Behrens P.A., Bosker T., Ehrhardt D.W.L. (Eds.) Food and Sustainability. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Jiang M., Behrens P.A., Wang T., Tang Z., Yu Y., Chen D., Liu L., Ren Z., Zhou W., Zhu S., He C., Tukker A. & Zhu B. (2019), Provincial and sector-level material footprints in China, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116(52): 26484-26490.
- Scherer L.A., Behrens P.A. & Tukker A. (2019), Opportunity for a Dietary Win-Win-Win in Nutrition, Environment, and Animal Welfare, One Earth 1(3): 349-360.
- Wang J., Dias Rodrigues J.F., Hu M., Behrens P.A. & Tukker A. (2019), The evolution of Chinese industrial CO2 emissions 2000–2050: A review and meta-analysis of historical drivers, projections and policy goals, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 116: 1364-0321.
- Sun Z., Scherer L., Tukker A. & Behrens P.A. (2019), Linking global crop and livestock consumption to local production hotspots, Global Food Security : 2211-9124.
- Jin Y., Behrens P.A., Tukker A. & Scherer L.A. (2019), Water use of electricity technologies: A global meta-analysis, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 115: 1364-0321.
- Bosker T., Bouwman L.J., Brun N.R., Behrens P. & Vijver M.G. (2019), Microplastics accumulate on pores in seed capsule and delay germination and root growth of the terrestrial vascular plant Lepidium sativum, Chemosphere 226: 774-781.
- Sun Z., Tukker A. & Behrens P.A. (2019), Going global to local: connecting top-down accounting and local impacts, a methodological review of spatially-explicit input-output approaches, Environmental Science & Technology 53(3): 1048–1062.
- Scherer L.A., Behrens P.A., Koning A. de, Heijungs R., Sprecher B. & Tukker A. (2018), Trade-offs between social and environmental Sustainable Development Goals, Environmental Science and Policy 90: 65-72.
- Qian Y., Behrens P.A., Tukker A., Dias Rodrigues J.F., Pinke L. & Scherer L.A. (2019), Environmental responsibility for sulfur dioxide emissions and associated biodiversity loss across Chinese provinces, Environmental Pollution 245: 898-908.
- Dias Rodrigues J.F., Moran D., Wood R. & Behrens P.A. (2018), Uncertainty of Consumption-Based Carbon Accounts, Marine Pollution Bulletin 52(13): 7577-7586.
- Yuan R., Behrens P. & Dias Rodrigues J.F. (2018), The evolution of inter-sectoral linkages in China's energy-related CO2emissions from 1997 to 2012, Energy Economics 69: 404-417.
- Xu B., Chen D., Behrens P.A., Ye W., Guo P. & Luo X. (2018), Modeling oscillation modal interaction in a hydroelectric generating system, Energy Conversion and Management 174: 208-217.
- Bosker T., Guaita L. & Behrens P. (2018), Microplastic pollution on Caribbean beaches in the Lesser Antilles, Marine Pollution Bulletin 133: 442-447.
- Bauer K., Bosker T., Dirks K.N. & Behrens P. (2018), The impact of seating location on black carbon exposure in public transit buses : Implications for vulnerable groups, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 62: 577-583.
- Yuan R., Dias Rodrigues J.F. & Behrens P.A. (2018), Impact of non-fossil electricity on the carbon emissions embodied in China's exports, Journal of Cleaner Production 192: 582-596.
- Yuan R., Dias Rodrigues J.F., Tukker A. & Behrens P. (2018), The impact of the expansion in non-fossil electricity infrastructure on China's carbon emissions, Applied Energy 228: 1994-2008.
- Yuan R., Behrens P.A., Tukker A. & Dias Rodrigues J.F. (2018), Carbon overhead : The impact of the expansion in low-carbon electricity in China 2015 – 2040, Energy Policy 119: 97-104.
- Zalk J. van & Behrens P.A. (2018), The spatial extent of renewable and non-renewable power generation: A review and meta-analysis of power densities and their application in the U.S., Energy Policy 123: 83-91.
- Behrens P., Kiefte-de Jong J.C., Bosker T., Rodrigues J.F.D., Koning A. de & Tukker A. (2017), Evaluating the environmental impacts of dietary recommendations, PNAS 114(51): 13412-13417.
- Lots, F.A.E., Behrens P., Vijver M.G., Horton A.A. & Bosker T. (2017), A large-scale investigation of microplastic contamination: Abundance and characteristics of microplastics in European beach sediment, MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 123(1-2): 219-226.
- Behrens P.A., Vliet M.T.H. van, Nanninga T. Walsh B. & Rodrigues J.F.D. (2017), Climate change and the vulnerability of electricity generation to water stress in the European Union, Nature Energy 2: 17114.
- Walsh B.M., Plank S. van der & Behrens P.A. (2017), The effect of community consultation on perceptions of a proposed mine: a case study from southeast Australia, Resources Policy 51: 163-171.
- Bosker T., Behrens P.A. & Vijver M.G. (2017), Determining Global Distribution of Microplastics by Combining Citizen Science and In-Depth Case Studies, Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management 13(3): 536-541.
- Behrens P. (27 September 2016), The Remote Sensing of Wind in Complex Terrain (PhD thesis, Physics, Auckland University). Supervisor(s): Professor Stuart Bradley.
- Besley A., Vijver M.G., Behrens P. & Bosker T. (2017), A standardized method for sampling and extraction methods for quantifying microplastics in beach sand, MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 144(1): 77-83.
- Besley A., Vijver M.G., Behrens P. & Bosker T. (2016), A standardized method for sampling and extraction methods for quantifying microplastics in beach sand, MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN .
- Plank S van der, Walsh B. & Behrens P.A. (2016), The expected impacts of mining: Stakeholder perceptions of a proposed mineral sands mine in rural Australia, Resources Policy 48: 129-136.
- Behrens P. (2014), Developing baseline data and monitoring mechanisms for tracking progress towards a smarter grid in New Zealand. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment.
- Behrens P. (2013), Languages in Aotearoa New Zealand. Wellington, New Zealand: Royal Society of New Zealand.
- Bradley Stuart, Perrott Yvette, Behrens Paul & Oldroyd Andy (2012), Corrections for Wind-Speed Errors from Sodar and Lidar in Complex Terrain, Boundary-Layer Meteorology 143(1): 37-48.
- Behrens Paul, O'Sullivan J., Archer R. & Bradley S. (2012), Underestimation of Monostatic Sodar Measurements in Complex Terrain, Boundary-Layer Meteorology 143(1): 97-106.
- Behrens P. (2012), Consultation on the 1996 HSNO Act. Wellington, New Zealand: Royal Society of New Zealand.
- Behrens Paul, Bradley Stuart & Wiens Travis (2010), A Multisodar Approach to Wind Profiling, JOURNAL OF ATMOSPHERIC AND OCEANIC TECHNOLOGY 27(7): 1165-1174.
- Wiens T. & Behrens P. (2009), Turbulent flow sensing using acoustic tomography.
- Behrens P., Bradley S. & (2008), A scanning bi-static SODAR.
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