Guest post by IAIA member George C. Ledec, Ph.D.
We are facing a global climate change crisis. This is becoming ever more evident, with record-high global temperatures, along with extreme heatwaves, unprecedented storms, and catastrophic wildfires. At IAIA24 in Dublin, speaker after speaker stressed the urgency of responding rapidly and effectively to the global climate crisis, especially by accelerating the energy transition from carbon-intensive fossil fuels to low-carbon, renewable energy technologies.
At the same time, we are facing a global biodiversity loss crisis. The IUCN Red List shows that worldwide, about one quarter of all mammal and freshwater fish species, and more than 40% of all amphibian species, currently face extinction. Some animal and plant species are already threatened by climate change, as the localized land and water areas where they occur are becoming less suitable for their survival. But even more species are now at risk from human-caused habitat loss and degradation, direct and incidental take, and the spread of invasive, non-native species. So solving the climate change crisis by itself will not solve the biodiversity loss crisis.
The Biodiversity Impacts of “Green Energy” Projects
These twin crises come together when we assess the biodiversity implications of our much-needed transition to a low-carbon energy future. The world needs to rapidly deploy low-carbon energy systems to limit climate change, for human well-being and to enable the long-term survival of many other species. However, a major inconvenient truth is that many renewable energy projects directly harm biodiversity themselves. Examples include:
- Hydropower dams can inundate vast upstream land areas, including unique ecosystems; drastically alter downstream river flows upon which numerous aquatic and river-edge species depend; and block the migrations of fish and other aquatic life.
- Wind power turbines kill numerous birds that collide with the spinning blades, including large soaring birds (eagles, vultures, etc.) that are often of conservation concern. They are likely an even greater hazard for bats, which--for still unknown reasons--appear to be attracted to the spinning blades.
- Solar power arrays tend to cover extensive land areas, some of which may be important to the conservation of localized animal or plant species.
- Geothermal projects have a land development footprint comparable to onshore oil and gas. They typically include long access roads and are often located in areas of high conservation value (with special geological features). Their toxic brine water is known to poison wildlife when inadequately managed.
- Long power lines are needed to connect remote renewable energy sites with urban demand centers. They result in bird collisions (even threatening the survival of some species, such as Ludwig’s Bustard Neotis ludwigii in southern Africa), bird and mammal electrocutions, and rainforest fragmentation.
- And let’s not forget all the new mining--sometimes in areas of high biodiversity value--for the copper, lithium, nickel, manganese, cobalt, zinc, and other strategic minerals that will be needed to fulfill the energy transition (electric vehicles, battery storage, and renewable energy equipment)!
Of course, other energy technologies, including fossil fuels and nuclear power, also pose biodiversity and other environmental challenges. Unfortunately, there is “no free lunch” when it comes to the environmental and social costs of meeting our ever-growing energy demands.
Embracing Biodiversity-Smart Solutions
The good news is that effective mitigation measures exist for most of the biodiversity risks posed by renewable energy development. These include:
- Good Site Selection (Location, Location, Location). The most important variable for minimizing the adverse biodiversity impacts from energy or other projects is typically good site selection. This includes dam sites that avoid flooding important upstream areas and enable key river segments to remain free-flowing; wind farms that are not in areas with important bird or bat concentrations; solar power arrays that do not infringe upon important biodiversity areas; power line routing that avoids the most sensitive habitats; and so on.
- Project Design. Energy infrastructure needs to be designed to minimize biodiversity losses, such as through bird-safe power pole designs that effectively prevent electrocutions.
- Project Construction. Construction practices need to avoid excessive vegetation clearing, water contamination, needlessly harming wildlife, or spreading invasive species.
- Project Operation. Environmental flow releases from dams can maintain downstream ecological conditions that enable threatened species to survive. Wind turbines can be stopped for short periods to protect large soaring birds or migratory flocks; they can also be curtailed at night during very low wind speeds to greatly reduce bat fatalities. In higher-rainfall areas, solar facilities can maintain pollinator meadows and native grasslands between the solar panel arrays.
- Ecological Compensation. Hydropower projects can usefully support forest conservation in the upper catchments where their water originates. Many renewable energy projects can conserve biodiversity through habitat set-asides, species management, biodiversity offsets, or other ecological compensation measures.
- Monitoring and Data Sharing. Robust biodiversity monitoring during energy project operation is needed to assess whether harm is occurring to species of concern; to select adaptive management approaches; and to understand would be the likely impacts of scaling up development nearby. Such monitoring—along with public sharing of the data—is also needed to expand scientific knowledge where there is still a steep learning curve (such as how best to prevent bird and bat collisions with wind turbines).
- Project and Sector Planning. Energy project sites should be selected with biodiversity in mind (among other key considerations). Strategic environmental and social assessments can produce zoning maps to prioritize new wind, solar, or other renewable energy development in areas of relatively low biodiversity concern.
Informing our Political Leaders and the Public
The bad news is that many government officials and opinion leaders, along with much of the public, remain blissfully unaware of the biodiversity and other environmental problems posed by “clean” or “green” energy sources. Many people still assume that phasing out fossil fuel use worldwide is just a matter of political will, or simply addressing economic constraints. They do not yet appreciate the very real biodiversity and other environmental and social impacts of renewable energy projects. Nonetheless, these impacts need to be fully recognized and then duly addressed via the mitigation hierarchy.
The goal should not be to block, or even slow down, the urgently needed transition to a low-carbon energy future. Rather, it should be to ensure that renewable energy sources are deployed and scaled up in ways that help to conserve biodiversity, rather than destroying it.
This vision of true environmental sustainability—urgent climate change mitigation with effective biodiversity conservation—can best be achieved when key stakeholders are well informed. As environmental assessment professionals, we have a duty to share our knowledge of climate change mitigation and biodiversity more broadly with decision-makers and the public.
IAIA MEMBERS: Do you have thoughts after reading this post? Let's continue the conversation in the IAIA Hub! George is happy to discuss this topic in the Member Forum.
