I’m a PhD student in Environmental Economics and Science at UC Santa Barbara and former director of the Conservation and Food & Agriculture programs at the Breakthrough Institute, where I am also a Senior Fellow. I was one of the authors of the Ecomodernist Manifesto. I’m interested in how technology can help decouple environmental impacts from economic growth, and specifically how to design and evaluate policies that drive agricultural intensification while also protecting natural habitats.

I’ve published widely in the areas of conservation, agriculture, and environmental policy. I’ve co-authored nine peer-reviewed papers and two book chapters, covering topics from ecological tipping points to livestock systems, food demand, ecological footprint accounting, planetary boundaries, ecosystem services, and forecasting methods. I’ve edited and contributed to the Breakthrough Institute’s web series The Future of Food, and written blogs and essays on issues ranging from decoupling to land sparing, precision agriculture, aquaculture, feedlots, and fertilizers.

My work has been featured in publications such as The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, New Scientist, Wired, New York Times, The Guardian, and many others.

I hold an MESc from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, where I specialized in environmental economics, and a BA in Geography from Cambridge University. I have worked for several conservation organizations including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and BirdLife Europe.

My interest in conservation and wildlife has taken me into the field, with experiences ranging from integrated conservation and development projects in rural Ecuador, raptor migration in the Mediterranean, livelihoods and endangered species conservation in the highlands of Kenya, biological surveys in Mediterranean wetlands, to bird banding on the Baltic Sea island of Öland. Outside of work, I’ve also had the privilege of visiting some of the world’s most spectacular sites for nature and wildlife, including the Brazilian Pantanal, the Galapagos Islands, various corners of the Amazon Basin, the Andes, Serengeti, and Anatolia.

I was born and raised in Sweden and have been based in the US since 2011. In my free time, I enjoy birding, motorcycling, photography, jazz, and running, although not all at the same time.

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