Tim Benton

Tim Benton

Co-lead

A longstanding researcher in sustainable agriculture and food systems, Tim has led the UKs Global Food Security Programme (2011-16). His expertise and skills are truly interdisciplinary, with an interest in scenarios for robust decision-making under uncertainty. Based jointly at Chatham House and the University of Leeds (UoL), his recent projects as Principal Investigator include the £10m GCRF-AFRICAP project. Tim is Chatham House’s Research Director for Emerging Risks, and Director of its Environment and Society Programme.

Here are some of the things that Tim has been working on in the AFN Network+

Image shows illustration of scenario c from scenarios report featuring a self sufficient world, with fields of crops and livestock tended by people on a small scale and housing located nearby.
Reports library

AFN Network+: What could the UK agri-food system look like in 2050?

How might the world look in 2050, and what sort of UK agri-food system might exist as a result? This report describes four possible futures and what policy planning and research will be needed under each, to move the agri-food system towards a net zero UK.

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Briefing

Tim Benton: What next for food and farming at UNFCC COP?

Why are food and farming hardly talked about at COP? Could this be about to change? If so, how? What or what is holding us back from food system transformation? COP veteran and globally renowned food system transformation expert, Prof Tim Benton (Chatham House, University of Leeds, AFN Network+ co-lead), answered these questions and more […]

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Country flags outside the united nations, pic by Photo by Xabi Oregi: https://www.pexels.com/photo/flags-of-countries-in-front-of-the-united-nations-office-at-geneva-16459372/
Podcast

Why aren’t food and farming talked about at COP? Prof Tim Benton answers

Our food system accounts for around a third of all global emissions – so why has it hardly been talked about at previous COPs? The UN’s climate change conference brings together world leaders every year to try to bash out a deal to cut emissions and halt climate change. But so far, it’s been famously […]

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AFN: Net Zero and the UK Agri-Food System: Prioriঞes for Research and Policy
Reports library

AFN Network+: What should the research and policy priorities be for reducing emissions from the UK agri-food system?

This report was produced after the network’s first 18 months of activities. It sets out the suggested priorities for research and policy that have emerged from our work under six themes. The focus is on the emissions from UK agri-food system, and not the global environmental footprint of UK-based food consumers.

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