We are pleased to announce that Ivan Hajdukovic and Beate Jessel have published a new article in Environmental Sciences Europe. This study examines the extent to which the European Green Deal (EGD) promotes renewable energy development and biodiversity conservation while addressing trade-offs between them.
By conducting a detailed qualitative analysis of 25 EGD policy and 15 legislative documents, the article identifies synergies such as the use of biomass residues and agricultural waste for bioenergy, integration of agrivoltaics, increased energy efficiency, and greater circularity of critical raw materials in renewable energy production.
It also highlights notable trade-offs, including the potential negative impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems of land-use change associated with biomass energy production, uncertain impacts of offshore wind and floating photovoltaics on aquatic ecosystems, environmental risks from ocean energy installations, and river fragmentation and wildlife changes caused by hydropower.
The study shows that achieving policy coherence and designing measures to integrate biodiversity into energy planning are essential to ensure that renewable energy expansion is compatible with biodiversity, emphasising the importance of integrated and cross-sectoral policy development.
The article is available open access on the Environmental Sciences Europe website: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-025-01321-4