ABSTRACT Governments globally have committed to Nature Positive, measurable gains in ecosystem health, and Net Zero, a balance where greenhouse gas emissions are equal to the emissions removed from the atmosphere, thereby addressing the interconnected crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. However, the pathways through which governments are choosing to achieve these goals are increasingly placing climate objectives and biodiversity conservation at odds. While the renewable energy transition is necessary for mitigating climate change and benefits biodiversity indirectly by doing so, these benefits have the potential to be in part offset by the direct impact of renewable energy's infrastructure itself. Here, we use Australia's recent environmental law reforms, which may allow renewable energy projects to be prioritized over biodiversity conservation, as a “lesson learned” for nations grappling with how to reconcile rapid renewable energy deployment with biodiversity integrity. We explore case studies where Net Zero does not compromise Nature Positive initiatives, and propose five key principles that must be adhered to truly achieve Net Zero: (i) plan early and strategically; (ii) adhere to the mitigation hierarchy; (iii) design for biodiversity and monitor adaptively; (iv) engage communities and custodians; and (v) align finance and policy with ecological performance.
Rigolot et al. (Sun,) studied this question.