https://iucn.org/story/202502/iucn-webinars-will-present-new-guidance-re...
With the renewable energy industry expected to continue growing, it is critical that policy makers, practitioners, and conservationists take action to address both direct and indirect impacts on biodiversity, according to the IUCN-led Renewables for Nature (REN) Coalition.
The coalition will host a series of webinars in March to unveil four new reports aimed at helping solar and wind developers, regulators, government officials, and local communities achieve their low-carbon aspirations, while safeguarding important landscapes and biodiversity.
IUCN and The Biodiversity Consultancy (TBC), in collaboration with BirdLife International, Fauna & Flora, The Nature Conservancy, and the Wildlife Conservation Society have produced new guidance and tools for the industry and public officials responsible for approving financing and regulating the energy transition. The guidance includes cumulative impacts, spatial planning, responsible sourcing, and biodiversity enhancements.
The REN coalition recognises the critical need to address biodiversity protection throughout the project cycle and, where possible, take advantage of opportunities to enhance biodiversity and contribute towards nature-positive goals. However, it will require a whole-of-society approach with different stakeholders fulfilling their roles and responsibilities.
“The ultimate goal of the energy transition is to reduce carbon emissions and help achieve our global climate target of limiting warming to 1.5°C – to protect our planet so that people and nature can thrive as one. We must ensure that when following this path, all actions take into consideration the impacts on biodiversity and communities, while strengthening opportunities for conservation,” says Dr Grethel Aguilar, Director General of IUCN.
The first report, Guidance on biodiversity cumulative impact assessment for wind and solar developments and associated infrastructure, outlines pragmatic and scalable approaches to implement cumulative impact assessments, which will allow developers and others to use the best tools available in a timely manner. It explains how cumulative impact assessments can be integrated with other assessments, such as environmental and social impact assessments (EISAs) that are often required for new projects, and even used in data-poor contexts, where the available biodiversity baseline information remains limited.
“Today, we know that biodiversity loss is directly related to climate change and vice versa. Cumulative impacts on biodiversity represent some of the most complex and challenging issues facing us today,” says Rachel Asante-Owusu, Senior Programme Coordinator, Climate Change and Energy Transition, IUCN.
“Ensuring that the race to renewables to achieve our climate targets does not further contribute to biodiversity loss is essential for a successful energy transition.”
Another new report, Spatial planning for wind and solar developments and associated infrastructure, provides a framework for developers and decision-makers to consider when using spatial planning. It promotes situating wind and solar developments in areas where they can generate energy efficiently and, at the same time, minimise their impacts on nature.
A third report, Opportunities for enhancing biodiversity at wind and solar energy developments, seeks to build up biodiversity in these new sites. This publication outlines strategies to enhance biodiversity in wind and solar energy projects, beyond mitigation. It also highlights the role of biodiversity monitoring to assess enhancement efforts and inform adaptive management practices.
In addition, the fourth report, Biodiversity and responsible sourcing for wind and solar developments, highlights the tools available to industry to ensure they do not contribute to biodiversity loss. Furthermore, it identifies ways in which developers can start to act on biodiversity supply chain impacts and improve their own responsible sourcing.
Tim Curtis, CEO of TBC says: "I am delighted that we have been able to work with IUCN and partners on these new biodiversity guidelines for wind and solar energy. In Phase 2 of this work, we have been able to go beyond operations at the site level, to assess the challenges of developing renewables at scale, and, crucially, how renewables can contribute to nature recovery through biodiversity enhancement. Using these guidelines, the renewable energy development sector will have additional support as they work towards halting and then reversing biodiversity loss."
In the upcoming webinars on 6, 13 and 20 March at 15:00 CET, hosted in collaboration with TBC, experts from the renewable industry and IUCN member organisations will explore the key findings and case studies, reflecting on experiences in implementing the recommendations from the reports.
To register for the webinars, please visit this link.
To download the new reports, please visit the IUCN Library.
