Renewable Energy Transitions and Their Impact on Nature: A report

• 21 Apr 2023

On April 20, 2023, in its first major report, CLEANaction, which is a coalition of NGOs, leading businesses, government bodies, and financial institutions, including WWF and IRENA as founding members, released a report on renewable energy transitions and their impact on nature.

• The report highlighted that wind and solar energy are cleaner options than other renewables such as hydropower, bioenergy, and nuclear energy.
• Construction of other renewable energy projects, such as hydropower dams and associated reservoirs, often leads to the inundation of vast swathes of natural habitat and alters natural flow regimes and downstream habitats.
• Bioenergy, including biomass, biofuel, and biogas, has a larger biodiversity impact per unit of energy than that of wind and solar.
• Governments should consider the impact on nature at the earliest stage by evaluating the renewable energy value chain and developing national regulatory schemes that require energy developers to contribute to national conservation targets.
• The report suggested adopting a circular economy model prioritizing material reuse to avoid and minimize impacts on nature.