Is our climate fight killing the environment? A case for smart from the start planning.
This article argues that climate and biodiversity goals must be pursued together through “smart from the start” planning, siting renewable energy and mineral extraction on low‑impact lands, expanding distributed energy, improving efficiency, and avoiding greenfield development that accelerates habitat loss.
Subject Tags
- Climate impacts
- Renewable energy
- Climate resilience
Abstract
Achieving global climate targets, including limiting warming to 1.5 °C, requires rapid transformation of the energy and transportation sectors. However, expanding renewable energy, electrified transport, and associated mineral extraction will substantially increase land and resource demands, potentially accelerating biodiversity loss if poorly planned. This article introduces a “smart from the start” framework to reconcile climate mitigation with biodiversity conservation by integrating low‑impact siting, distributed energy systems, and holistic land‑use planning into the energy transition.
We synthesize evidence showing that utility‑scale renewable energy, transmission infrastructure, electric vehicle deployment, and emerging net‑zero technologies often have large spatial and material footprints that disproportionately affect intact ecosystems, water resources, rural communities, and Indigenous lands. Current deployment practices frequently rely on centralized energy generation on undisturbed greenfields, exacerbating habitat loss and social conflict while delaying project implementation. Without coordinated planning, these impacts risk undermining ecosystem services and reinforcing negative feedbacks between biodiversity loss and climate change.
The smart from the start approach emphasizes avoiding high‑value conservation areas, prioritizing disturbed or low‑conflict lands, expanding urban and distributed renewable energy, increasing energy efficiency, and reducing demand for new extraction through recycling and circular economy strategies. We outline seven actionable strategies to guide implementation, including coordinated land‑use planning, strict adherence to the mitigation hierarchy, targeted incentives, remediation of disturbed lands, and protection of water resources.
By aligning climate action with conservation and community values, smart from the start planning can accelerate the energy transition while minimizing ecological and social trade‑offs. This integrated approach is essential to achieving climate mitigation goals without intensifying the global biodiversity crisis.
Citation
Clifford, M.J., Gower, P., Anderson, T., Moan, J., Hazelwood, M., Parker, S.S. and Saito, L., 2025. Is our climate fight killing the environment? A case for smart from the start planning. BioScience, 75(4), pp.273-275. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biae122
TNC Authors
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Michael J. Clifford
Nevada Conservation Scientist
The Nature Conservancy
Email: michael.clifford@tnc.org -
Peter Gower
Climate and Renewable Energy Program Director for Western U.S. and Canada
The Nature Conservancy
Email: peter.gower@tnc.org -
Tanya Anderson
Nevada Project Manager
The Nature Conservancy
Phone: Phone
Email: tanderson@tnc.org -
Jaina Moan
External Affairs Director, Nevada
The Nature Conservancy
Phone: Phone
Email: jaina.moan@tnc.org -
Mickey Hazelwood
Conservation Director, Nevada
The Nature Conservancy
Phone: Phone
Email: mhazelwood@tnc.org -
Sophie Parker
Interim Director of Conservation Science, California
The Nature Conservancy
Email: sophie_parker@tnc.org -
Laurel Saito
Strategy Director for Water, Nevada
Email: laurel.saito@tnc.org