Combining Climate Protection and Nature Conservation: Requirements for an Environmentally Friendly Energy Transition

Abstract

Germany, like most countries around the globe, has made a commitment to undertake ambitious efforts to prevent human interference with the climate system, but also to protect nature and to safeguard humanity’s natural life-support systems. Given that climate change poses a severe threat to species and habitats, a transition of the energy supply system and the development of renewable energies are necessary also from a nature conservation perspective. At the same time, renewable energies have strong impacts on objects of nature conservation. Germany, with its Renewable Energies Act (EEG) to promote renewable electricity, is one of the pioneers of the energy transition, and the country has seen a strong increase in new plants producing renewable energy. In this paper we discuss this field of tension from the specific perspective of nature conservation and focus on three technologies: wind energy development—both onshore and offshore—and biogas production. Based on this, requirements for an energy transition that is compatible with nature conservation targets are derived. We conclude that, rather than dealing with the consequences of unwanted side-effects, nature conservation issues should be included in energy transition efforts at an early stage. Overlapping targets, such as energy efficiency, should be supported, and research, technology development and discourse are essential.