Renewable energy is an urgently needed and economically viable solution to fight climate change. As the United States and other countries worldwide turn to renewable sources to reduce emissions and move away from fossil fuels, policymakers must consider the impact of renewable energy development on wildlife. The two can coexist – and they must- but it takes prior planning and an understanding of the needs of wildlife that depend on the places renewable energy developers are focused on.
Since January, when President Biden took office, renewable energy planning and deployment has been gaining momentum. The administration is working to achieve its ambitious goals of reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030 and obtaining carbon pollution-free electricity generation by 2035 with economy-wide net-zero emissions by 2050. Offshore wind energy, for example, now has a whole-of-government approach. The administration aims to generate 30 gigawatts by 2030, mitigating 78 million metric tons of carbon emissions and creating nearly 80,000 new offshore wind jobs and 57,000 new jobs in communities supported by offshore wind activities. In May, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved the first commercial offshore wind energy project in the U.S. off the Massachusetts coast. Several projects are now being planned or are underway on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as well as in the Gulf of Mexico.
Renewable Energy and Wildlife Can Coexist, and They Must
Since January, when President Biden took office, renewable energy planning and deployment has been gaining momentum. The administration is working to achieve its ambitious goals of reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030 and obtaining carbon pollution-free electricity generation by 2035 with economy-wide net-zero emissions by 2050. Offshore wind energy, for example, now has a whole-of-government approach. The administration aims to generate 30 gigawatts by 2030, mitigating 78 million metric tons of carbon emissions and creating nearly 80,000 new offshore wind jobs and 57,000 new jobs in communities supported by offshore wind activities. In May, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved the first commercial offshore wind energy project in the U.S. off the Massachusetts coast. Several projects are now being planned or are underway on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as well as in the Gulf of Mexico.
Renewable Energy and Wildlife Can Coexist, and They Must