Date & Time: 8 October 2024 at 11 1m CEST
Organizer: IRENA
Description: While renewable energy plays a vital role in addressing global climate change, it can also have a range of other impacts on the environment (both positive and negative), such as those related to land use, water, air, soil, and biodiversity. Many of these potential impacts are linked to the location and development of renewable energy projects. Implementation of prevention measures during the project planning and permitting stages is necessary to minimise these impacts in the most practicable and cost-effective approach. Tools and policies need to be adopted to ensure that the siting of renewable energy projects does not harm biodiversity and ecosystem services. With the COP28 pledge of tripling renewables primarily driven by solar and wind expected to rapidly accelerate deployment, it is essential that policymakers are aware of the potential impacts, ways to mitigate them, best practices and examples.
This webinar will discuss the environmental impacts of solar and wind projects, highlighting solutions to incorporate environmental considerations into project siting and permitting processes. IRENA will present preliminary findings based on ongoing analytical work related to renewable energy siting and permitting and environmental impacts. A panel session joined by experts from WWF International, Birdlife International, Global Wind Energy Council and other environmental and energy stakeholders will also share their insights and experiences.
