Geology topics

Uzma Ashraf

Publications and source records attributed to Uzma Ashraf.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2025

Practitioners’ perceived risks to biodiversity from renewable energy expansion through 2050

Large-scale (e.g., > 1 megawatt capacity) wind and solar energy (hereafter, LSWS) developments are increasing to aid decarbonization. However, LSWS can also negatively affect biodiversity. Planners and other interested parties’ perceptions about the impact of LSWS on biodiversity will thus affect how trade-offs are managed during planning and buildout. We present a survey of professionals (n=116) working at the intersection of LSWS and biodiversity protection across the United States concerning: (1) perceived environmental impacts from LSWS expansion; and (2) how these impacts compare to other land-use and land-cover change drivers. We find that practitioners perceive LSWS to impact biodiversity negatively but less so than other land-cover change drivers, including fossil fuels and agriculture. This highlights the need for increased attention to the role of practitioners in advancing renewable energy and biodiversity conservation.

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications↗

USGS2025

Climate-Smart Siting for renewable energy expansion

A massive expansion of renewable energy (RE) is underway to meet the world’s climate goals. Although RE serves to reduce threats from climate change, it can also pose threats to species whose current and future ranges intersect with RE installations. Here, we propose a “Climate-Smart Siting” framework for addressing potential conflicts between RE expansion and biodiversity conservation. The framework engenders authentic consultation with affected and disadvantaged communities throughout and uses overlay and optimization routines to identify focal areas now and in the future where RE development poses promise and peril as species’ ranges shift in response to climate change. We use this framework to demonstrate methods, identify decision outcomes, and discuss market-based levers for aligning RE expansion with the United Nations Global Biodiversity Framework now and as climate change progresses. In the face of the climate crisis, a Climate-Smart Siting strategy could help create solutions without causing further harm to biodiversity and human communities.

iScience↗

USGS2024

Aligning renewable energy expansion with climate-driven range shifts

Fossil fuel dependence can be reduced, in part, by renewable energy expansion. Increasingly, renewable energy siting seeks to avoid significant impacts on biodiversity but rarely considers how species ranges will shift under climate change. Here we undertake a systematic literature review on the topic and overlay future renewable energy siting maps with the ranges of two threatened species under future climate scenarios to highlight this potential conflict.

Nature Climate Change↗