Electric power generation and biodiversity

A study examines the global impact of electric power generation on biodiversity. Sustainable reductions of greenhouse gas emissions from the global electric power sector will need to account for the effects of electric power generation on biodiversity. Robert Holland and colleagues investigated the impact of demand for electric power in 140 countries and country groupings on nearly 4,000 threatened amphibian, bird, and mammal species from around the world, considering effects throughout the supply chain. The majority of threats to biodiversity were territorial, occurring in the same countries where demand for power existed. However, substantial regional differences emerged, with some countries’ power demand posing a greater threat to biodiversity internationally than territorially. For each of 8 electric power sectors, economic activity was positively associated with biodiversity threat. However, the relationship between activity and threat varied across sectors, with coal having the greatest threat for a given level of economic activity, and nuclear, solar, and wind among the lowest. The results suggest that shifting to nonfossil fuel energy sources could reduce threats to biodiversity. However, it remains uncertain how biodiversity impacts will scale as nonfossil fuel sectors grow. The territorial nature of biodiversity threats provides national governments with considerable ability and incentive to mitigate such threats, according to the authors.

Article #19-09269: “The influence of the global electric power system on terrestrial biodiversity,” by Robert A. Holland et al.

MEDIA CONTACT: Robert A. Holland, University of Southampton, UNITED KINGDOM; tel: +44-7818213070; e-mail:

[email protected]

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