02 DEC 2025 (TUE) 10:00-11:00

GEOG HKU
Nov 25
2 min read

Departmental Research Seminars Series

Sustainable agriculture and forestry to mitigate air pollution and climate change: Earth system modeling perspectives

Date: 02 DEC 2025 (Thursday)

Time: 10:00-11:00 (HKT)

Venue: Chamber, Faculty of Social Sciences, 11/F, The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU

Registration link: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=103685

Abstract:

Appropriation of land resources through agriculture and forestry profoundly shapes atmospheric chemistry and climate, driving intertwined challenges of air pollution, climate change, food insecurity, and ecosystem degradation. In this talk, we will examine how these activities have produced often unexpected consequences for human health, ecosystems, and climate via complex Earth system connections. Integrating long-term observational datasets with Earth system modeling, we will show how recent dietary shifts in China have intensified agricultural nitrogen emissions and particulate pollution, leading to heightened premature mortality and health inequity. We will also examine how irrigation may have complex and unintended consequences for climate and air quality in China. We will further discuss how global land-use change and growing food demand may exacerbate surface ozone pollution, impairing both human health and forest carbon uptake. We will highlight how more sustainable agricultural and forest management strategies—such as intercropping, spatial optimization of cropland–livestock systems, and water-saving irrigation practices—can yield substantial environmental, climate and health co-benefits. Together, these insights reveal opportunities for transforming food and land systems toward a cleaner and more climate-resilient future.

Professor Amos Tai

Professor and the Deputy Chair (Education) of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)

Amos P. K. Tai is a Professor and the Deputy Chair (Education) of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Amos obtained his B.Sc. from MIT, Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Engineering from Harvard University, and was a Croucher Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT before he joined CUHK in 2013. Amos specializes in atmospheric chemistry and physics, ecological climatology, and sustainable agriculture and forestry. His research combines Earth system modeling and big-data analytics to address pressing sustainability issues, including the impacts of air pollution and climate change on forest ecosystems and agriculture, and how food system transformation and better land management can mitigate climate change and environmental pollution. His work has been published in top-ranking journals including Nature Climate Change and Nature Food, and earned him the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Research Award for Young Scientists, Early Career Award from the Research Grants Council, Science Faculty Young Researcher Award, and founding membership of the Hong Kong Young Academy of Sciences. Amos is also a passionate educator, having received the prestigious CUHK Vice-Chancellor Exemplary Teaching Award and Faculty of Science Exemplary Teaching Awards. He delights in promoting science, environmental and sustainability education for the public, regularly giving talks in schools and public avenues, participating in many TV and radio programs, and providing consulting services to various government departments, international agencies and NGOs. He currently serves as a board member of Friends of the Earth (HK) and Cedar Foundation. For his professional contributions and public services to society, he was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Hong Kong in 2024.