WWF-Canada supports the transition to habitat-friendly renewable energy. These projects must take into consideration the needs of both wildlife and communities.
Fossil fuels are the largest contributors to greenhouse gases and the leading cause of climate change. If left unchecked, climate change will lead to devastating consequences for wildlife and humanity. WWF-Canada is committed to seeing Canada convert to 100 per cent renewable energy by 2050. Making a move to renewable energy involves the installation of new technology, and often, these infrastructure changes can have negative impacts on wildlife and their habitats. WWF-Canada supports the transition to habitat-friendly renewable energy projects that consider the needs of both wildlife and communities.
Switching to renewables will eliminate emissions, causing climate breakdown while reducing related impacts such as forest fires, melting Arctic ice, sea-level rise, desertification, erosion and flooding. It will also limit disastrous fossil-fuel spills in our oceans and watersheds. With tremendous wind, solar, hydro, tidal and biomass potential, Canada is home to significant renewable energy reserves. We can make renewables Canada’s source of power, in turn creating climate-friendly jobs, exportable expertise and protecting nature.
If renewable energy project planning and development fails to account for biodiversity, migratory patterns or sensitive habitats, they can have major — and sometimes irreparable — consequences on wildlife.
We need to take biodiversity into account before we invest time and money into renewable energy projects. This will ensure new projects move forward quickly and without harmful impacts to the environment, while still meeting community needs.
WWF-Canada supports renewable energy deployment that protects habitats on land and in freshwater, marine and Arctic environments. We’ve created a habitat-friendly renewable energy tool that maps sustainable energy potential and areas with significant conservation value. Thanks to this tool, government, industry and communities can now quickly make informed decisions that benefit all species, including people. By tracking and mapping wildlife behaviour, we can identify areas where energy potential is high while impact on the environment and communities is low. This approach is a win for wildlife and people and is essential to creating a low-carbon world.
WWF-Canada is also demonstrating that habitat-friendly renewable energy is feasible in challenging environments by working to transition Arctic communities away from diesel and supporting the development of habitat-friendly tidal power generation in the Bay of Fundy, which has the highest tides in the world.
Our dedicated team of conservationists and researchers are constantly out in the field, gathering facts and data. Read more about their climate work.
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