Changing our food system could, arguably, be approached with different aims and perspectives. What happens when the aim of change is net zero though? What are the win-wins from climate adaptation and mitigation? What could this mean on a practical level for farmers? But what too are the trade-offs we might need to weigh up, and what would their implications be over time? Our speaker, Dr Pete Falloon, lays all of this out for us. Based at the Met Office, Pete leads the organisation’s Climate Service for Defra, providing scientific advice to support the department’s decision making on climate resilience and adaptation in the agri-food system.

Pete covers;

• Climatic changes the UK is currently experiencing and is projected to face
• Findings from the Met Office’s risk assessment of climate change impacts on the UK food system
• When pursuing net zero creates win-wins; cost effective adaptation and mitigation measures for farmers and others in agri-food
• When pursuing net zero creates trade-off, or unintended consequences

About Pete:

Dr Pete Falloon leads the Met Office’s Climate Service for Defra on Food, Farming and Natural Environment, which provides scientific advice in support of climate resilience and adaptation in the agri-food system. The climate service feeds into the UK’s Climate Change Risk Assessment and National Adaptation Programme, and Defra’s UK Food Security Report. Alongside climate resilient food systems, Pete’s interests include soil (especially carbon), water, agriculture (particularly greenhouse gas fluxes and land management), land use and climate interactions.

About the webinar series:

This webinar is part of a monthly series run by AFN Network+ which explores net zero in the UK agri-food system with leading movers and shakers. Expect deep and varied insight from across the sector, including farmers, scientists, policy analysts, community leaders, retailers, politicians, businesses and health professionals. The series is put together by Jez Fredenburgh, our Knowledge Exchange Fellow, and Prof Neil Ward, AFN Co-lead and professor of rural geography at the University of East Anglia.