Planting our way to climate crisis mitigation
The climate change crisis needs big solutions – green energy changes, complex engineering innovations – but alongside these giant efforts is a much simpler option that could provide a third of the solution: plants. Plants feed the planet and fix carbon dioxide, are the only option to feed a growing global population at a lower rate of emissions, and new crop innovations boost economies. But work needs to be done.
Professor Andrew Allan discusses how plant-based economies contribute to climate crisis mitigation and how New Zealand could support a transition. Existing crops, based on temperate perennials, would need to become climate-resistant and new crops developed for food production.
Quick changes to plant traits are possible through new breeding technologies, but in contrast to most countries, use of NBT-bred plants in New Zealand requires regulation change. Andrew explains the hard decisions and why they should be made.
Bio
Andrew Allan is a Professor of Plant Molecular Physiology in the Faculty of Science and a Principal Scientist at the Bioeconomy Science Institute. He studied biochemistry and cell biology at the University of Canterbury and received his PhD in Biochemistry at Cambridge University in 1992. He is the programme leader of an MBIE-Endeavour project which aims to understand the effect of the warming climate on flowering in perennial plants.
Event
Tuesday, 25 August 2026, 7:30pm – 8:30pm @Wharfside Bar & Eatery, Ground Floor/137 Quay Street, Auckland CBD, Auckland 1010
The other talk at this location is Mending broken hearts with the technology revolution at 6:00pm – 7:00pm
