Paul Behrens
Associate professor
- Name
- Dr. P.A. Behrens
- Telephone
- +31 71 527 2727
- p.a.behrens@cml.leidenuniv.nl
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0002-2935-4799
Paul Behrens is an author and Associate Professor at Leiden University. His popular science book, The Best of Times, The Worst of Times: Futures from the Frontiers of Climate Science(Indigo Press, 2020) describes humanity’s current trajectory and possible futures in paired chapters of pessimism and hope, on topics including the economy, energy, land and food. He outlines just how much is to be done to achieve a hopeful future, but how this scenario would involve actively building a healthier, happier and more fulfilling world. He is an author and editor of Food and Sustainability an interdisciplinary textbook with colleagues for Oxford University Press. His research and writing focusses on the areas causing most of the problems: energy, food and economic systems. His research and writing has appeared in scientific journals and media outlets such as the BBC, Thomson Reuters, Politico, Nature Sustainability, Nature Energy, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,Nature Food and Nature Communications. Paul won Leiden University’s Discoverer of the year in 2018, the Stan’s award for best outreach 2021, and International Champion in the Frontiers Planet Prize in 2023
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Biography
Paul Behrens is an author and academic in environmental change at Leiden University. His popular science book The Best of Times, The Worst of Times: Futures from the Frontiers of Climate Science (Indigo Press, 2020) describes humanity’s possible futures in paired chapters of pessimism and hope is now available. He wrote Food and Sustainability a transdisciplinary textbook with colleagues with Oxford University Press. His research on food, energy and climate change has appeared in leading scientific journals and in 2018 he was awarded Leiden University’s Discoverer of the Year. His research and writing has appeared in scientific journals and media outlets such as the BBC, Thomson Reuters, Politico, Nature Sustainability, Nature Energy, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Food and Nature Communications. Paul won Leiden University’s Discoverer of the year in 2018, the Stan’s award for best outreach 2021, and International Champion in the Frontiers Planet Prize in 2023.
Paul is a physicist by training, his Ph.D. is from the University of Auckland (New Zealand), where he developed techniques for improving wind energy generation in mountainous terrain. Paul has worked in industry, NGOs, and academia. He has worked at the Royal Society of New Zealand, providing expert scientific advice to the New Zealand Government on environmental sustainability and other topics.
Academic Expertise:
- Energy systems, Food systems and climate change
- Environmental economics
- Environmentally-extended Input-output modelling
- Renewable energy technologies
- Energy policy
- Science communication
- Physics
Courses:
- Energy Science
- Alternative Energy Strategies
- Physics
- Statistics
- Sustainability
- Mathematics
- Research design
Associate professor
- Science
- Centrum voor Milieuwetenschappen Leiden
- CML/Industriele Ecologie
- Blanco Rocha C.F., Quik J.T.K., Hof M., Fuortes A., Behrens P.A., Cucurachi S., Peijnenburg W.J.G.M., Dimroth F. & Vijver M.G. (2024), A prospective ecological risk assessment of high-efficiency III–V/silicon tandem solar cells, Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 26(3): 540-554.
- Behrens P.A., Scherer L.A., Wang R., Yi J., Drews M., Larsen M.A.D. & Schaible C. (2024), Enforcing and improving water data reporting in the energy system is urgently needed, Next Energy 2: 100102 (100102).
- Xu C., Behrens P.A., Gasper P., Smith K., Hu M., Tukker A. & Steubing B.R.P. (2023), Electric vehicle batteries alone could satisfy short-term grid storage demand by as early as 2030, Nature Communications 14: 119.
- Yuang R., Rodrigues J.F.D., Wang J. & Behrens P.A. (2023), The short-term impact of US-China trade war on global GHG emissions from the perspective of supply chain reallocation, Environmental Impact Assessment Review 98: 106980.
- Zhao Z., Ding X., Behren P.A., Li J., He M., Gao Y., Liu G., Xu B. & Chen D. (2023), Corrigendum to “The importance of flexible hydropower in providing electricity stability during China’s coal phase-out” [Appl. Energy 336 (2023) 120684], Applied Energy 344: 121310.
- Tukker A., Behrens P., Deetman S.P., Hu M., Migoni Alejandre E., Meide M. van der, Zhong X. & Zhang C. (2023), Circular construction: six key recommendations, One Earth 6: 1425-1429.
- Nijnens J., Behrens P.A., Kraan O., Sprecher B. & Kleijn E.G.M. (2023), Energy transition will require substantially less mining than the current fossil system, Joule 7(11): 2408-2413.
- Wang R., Hertwich E.G., Fishman T., Deetman S.P., Behrens P.A., Chen W., Koning A. de, Xu M., Matus K., Ward H., Tukker A. & Zimmerman J.B. (2023), The legacy environmental footprints of manufactured capital, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 120(24): e2218828120.
- Zhao Z., Ding X., Behrens P.A., Li J., He M., Gao Y., Liu G., Xu B. & Chen D. (2023), The importance of flexible hydropower in providing electricity stability during China’s coal phase-out, Applied Energy 336: 120684.
- Wang R., Hertwich E.G., Fishman T., Deetman S.P., Behrens P.A., Chen W., Koning A. de, Xu M., Matus K., Ward H., Tukker A. & Zimmerman J.B. (2023), The legacy environmental footprints of manufactured capital, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 120(24): e2218828120.
- Jiang M., Behrens P.A., Yang Y.H., Tang Z.P., Chen D.J., Yu Y.D., Liu L., Gong P., Zhu S.J., Zhou W.J., Zhu B. & Tukker A. (2022), Different material footprint trends between China and the world in 2007-2012 explained by construction- and manufacturing-associated investment, One Earth 5(1): 109-119.
- Sun Z., Behrens P.A., Tukker A., Bruckner M. & Scherer L.A. (2022), Shared and environmentally just responsibility for global biodiversity loss, Ecological Economics 194: 107339.
- Zhong X., Deetman S.P., Tukker A. & Behrens P.A. (2022), Increasing material efficiencies of buildings to address the global sand crisis, Nature Sustainability 5: 389-392.
- Sun Z., Behrens P.A., Tukker A., Bruckner M. & Scherer L.A. (2022), Global human consumption threatens key biodiversity areas, Environmental Science and Technology 56(12): 9003-9014.
- Yuan R., Dias Rodrigues J.F., Wang J., Tukker A. & Behrens P.A. (2022), A global overview of developments of urban and rural household GHG footprints from 2005 to 2015, Science of the Total Environment 806(Part 2): 150695.
- Rong Y., Dias Rodrigues J.F., Tukker A. & Behrens P.A. (2022), The statistical projection of global GHG emissions from a consumption perspective, Sustainable Production and Consumption 34: 318-329.
- Menacho A.J.H., Rodrigues J.F.D. & Behrens P.A. (2022), A triple bottom line assessment of concentrated solar power generation in China and Europe 2020-2050, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 167: 112677.
- Sun Z., Scherer L., Zhang Q. & Behrens P.A. (2022), Adoption of plant-based diets across Europe can improve food resilience against the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Nature Food 3(11): 905-910.
- Jin Y., Scherer L.A., Sutanudjaja E.H., Tukker A. & Behrens P.A. (2022), Climate change and CCS increase the water vulnerability of China's thermoelectric power fleet, Energy 245: 123339.
- Jin Y., Behrens P.A., Tukker A. & Scherer L.A. (2022), Biodiversity loss from freshwater use for China’s electricity generation, Environmental Science and Technology 56(5): 3277-3287.
- Sun Z., Scherer L.A., Tukker A., Spawn-lee S.A., Bruckner M., Gibbs H.K. & Behrens P.A. (2022), Dietary change in high-income nations alone can lead to substantial double climate dividend, Nature Food 3: 29-37.
- Behrens P.A. & Briggs H. (2022), Veg diet plus re-wilding gives 'double climate dividend', .
- Xu B., Zhang J., Egusquiza M., Chen D., Li F., Behrens P.A. & Egusquiza E. (2021), A review of dynamic models and stability analysis for a hydro-turbine governing system, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 144: 110880.
- Bamberger M., Behrens P.A. & Scherer L. (2021), Environmental impacts of the nutrition transition and potential hunger eradication in emerging countries, Sustainability Science 16: 565-579.
- Yang Z., Sun G., Behrens P.A., Ostergaard P.A., Egusquiza M., Egusquiza E., Xu B., Chen D. & Patelli E. (2021), The potential for photovoltaic-powered pumped-hydro systems to reduce emissions, costs, and energy insecurity in rural China, Energy Conversion and Management: X 11: 100108.
- Zhong X., Hu M., Deetman S.P., Steubing B.R.P., Lin H., Aguilar Hernandez G.A., Harpprecht C.I., Zhang C., Tukker A. & Behrens P.A. (2021), Global greenhouse gas emissions from residential and commercial building materials and mitigation strategies to 2060, Nature Communications 12: 6126.
- Zhong X., Hu M., Deetman S.P., Dias Rodrigues J.F., Lin H., Tukker A. & Behrens P.A. (2021), The evolution and future perspectives of energy intensity in the global building sector 1971–2060, Journal of Cleaner Production 305: 127098.
- Jin Y., Behrens P.A., Tukker A. & Scherer L. (2021), The energy-water nexus of China’s interprovincial and seasonal electric power transmission, Applied Energy 286: 116493.
- Sun Z., Scherer L., Tukker A. & Behrens P.A. (2020), Linking global crop and livestock consumption to local production hotspots, Global Food Security 25: 100323.
- Usubiaga-Liaño A., Behrens P. & Daioglou V. (2020), Energy use in the global food system, Journal of Industrial Ecology 24(4): 830-840.
- Behrens P.A., Bosker T. & Ehrhardt D.W.L. (2020), 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.
- 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.
- Jiang M., Liu L., Behrens P.A., Wang T., Tang Z., Chen D., Yu Y., Ren Z., Zhu S., Tukker A. & Zhu B. (2020), Improving subnational input-output analyses using regional trade data: a case-study and comparison, Environmental Science and Technology 54(19): 12732-12741.
- Qian Y. Scherer L.A. Tukker A. Behrens P.A. (2020), China's potential SO2 emissions from coal by 2050, Energy Policy 147: 111856.
- Ottelin J. Cetinay H. Behrens P.A. (2020), Rebound effects may jeopardize the resource savings of circular consumption: evidence from household material footprints, Environmental Research Letters 15(10): 104044.
- Rodrigues J.F.D. Wang J. Behrens P.A. Boer P. de (2020), Drivers of CO2 emissions from electricity generation in the European Union 2000–2015, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 133: 110104.
- Usubiaga-Liaño A., Behrens P. & Daioglou V. (2020), Energy use in the global food system, Journal of Industrial Ecology 24(4): 830-840.
- Behrens P.A. (2020), Energy. In: Behrens P.A., Bosker T. & Ehrhardt D.W.L. (Eds.), Food and Sustainability. Oxford: 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.
- 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.
- 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 and Technology 53(3): 1048–1062.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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., 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 and Technology 53(3): 1048–1062.
- Bauer K., Bosker T., Dirks K.N. & Behrens P.A. (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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Bosker T., Guaita L. & Behrens P.A. (2018), Microplastic pollution on Caribbean beaches in the Lesser Antilles, Marine Pollution Bulletin 133: 442-447.
- Yuan R., Behrens P.A. & 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Yuan R., Behrens P.A. & 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.
- Bauer K., Bosker T., Dirks K.N. & Behrens P.A. (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.
- 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.
- 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 & Policy 90: 65-72.
- 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.
- 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.
- Besley A.P.A., Vijver M.G., Behrens P.A. & Bosker T. (2017), A standardized method for sampling and extraction methods for quantifying microplastics in beach sand, Marine Pollution Bulletin 144(1): 77-83.
- 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., Kiefte-de Jong J.C., Bosker T., Rodrigues J.F.D., Koning A. de & Tukker A. (2017), Evaluating the environmental impacts of dietary recommendations, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114(51): 13412-13417.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 (Dissertatie, Physics, Auckland University). Supervisor(s): Bradley Stuart.
- 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.A., Rodrigues J.D.F., Bras T. & Silva C. (2016), Environmental, economic, and social impacts of feed-in tariffs: A Portuguese perspective 2000–2010, Applied Energy 173(2016): 309–319.
- 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.
- Behrens P.A., 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.
- 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, 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. International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering.
- Behrens P. & Bradley S. (2008), A scanning bi-static SODAR. 14th International Symposium of Boundary Layer Remote Sensing.