This session examines the environmental impacts and opportunities arising from the global shift to renewable energy systems (RES), including solar, wind, and smart, decentralized energy solutions. As these systems expand, they bring significant shifts in land use and ecosystem dynamics, which pose challenges and opportunities for biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services, and long-term sustainability.
We invite research that examines:
• The environmental effects, trade-offs, and co-benefits of RES, particularly their impacts on hosting ecosystems (e.g., grasslands, arid environments, aquatic ecosystems) and human-made landscapes (e.g., arable land).
• Strategies for conserving biodiversity and enhancing ecological outcomes during the transition to renewable energy systems, including sustainable land use and land management approaches.
• Opportunities provided by RES to improve environmental co-benefits, such as promoting ecosystem services and maximizing techno-ecological synergies that enhance the sustainability of these systems.
• Methodological approaches, including remote sensing, modeling, and empirical field studies, to better understand and manage the impacts of energy transitions on ecosystems.
• The role of RES in promoting long-term sustainability through strategies that integrate technological innovation and ecological preservation.
We encourage abstracts based on empirical evidence, modeling, or framework-based approaches that propose solutions for the sustainable integration of renewable energy systems within local and regional environments.