Renewable energy development threatens many globally important biodiversity areas.

Autor: Rehbein JA; School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld, Australia.; Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science (CBCS), The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld, Australia.; Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation, School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, Australia., Watson JEM; School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld, Australia.; Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science (CBCS), The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld, Australia.; Wildlife Conservation Society, Global Conservation Program, Bronx, NY, USA., Lane JL; Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation, School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld, Australia.; Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA., Sonter LJ; School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld, Australia.; Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science (CBCS), The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld, Australia., Venter O; Natural Resource and Environmental Studies Institute, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, Canada., Atkinson SC; United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), New York, NY, USA., Allan JR; Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science (CBCS), The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld, Australia.; School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld, Australia.; Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Global change biology [Glob Chang Biol] 2020 May; Vol. 26 (5), pp. 3040-3051. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Mar 25.
DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15067
Abstrakt: Transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy is fundamental for halting anthropogenic climate change. However, renewable energy facilities can be land-use intensive and impact conservation areas, and little attention has been given to whether the aggregated effect of energy transitions poses a substantial threat to global biodiversity. Here, we assess the extent of current and likely future renewable energy infrastructure associated with onshore wind, hydropower and solar photovoltaic generation, within three important conservation areas: protected areas (PAs), Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and Earth's remaining wilderness. We identified 2,206 fully operational renewable energy facilities within the boundaries of these conservation areas, with another 922 facilities under development. Combined, these facilities span and are degrading 886 PAs, 749 KBAs and 40 distinct wilderness areas. Two trends are particularly concerning. First, while the majority of historical overlap occurs in Western Europe, the renewable electricity facilities under development increasingly overlap with conservation areas in Southeast Asia, a globally important region for biodiversity. Second, this next wave of renewable energy infrastructure represents a ~30% increase in the number of PAs and KBAs impacted and could increase the number of compromised wilderness areas by ~60%. If the world continues to rapidly transition towards renewable energy these areas will face increasing pressure to allow infrastructure expansion. Coordinated planning of renewable energy expansion and biodiversity conservation is essential to avoid conflicts that compromise their respective objectives.
(© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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