Solar energy is a key pillar of Europe’s climate mitigation strategy, but its rapid expansion is transforming rural landscapes where biodiversity, agriculture, and cultural heritage intersect. Large-scale ground-mounted solar installations require substantial land, which can lead to habitat loss, landscape fragmentation, and social conflict, especially when projects are planned without meaningful involvement of local communities.
Current planning and assessment processes often do not sufficiently take into account biocultural diversity (the interdependence of biodiversity, local knowledge, and cultural values) as well as questions of environmental justice, such as who decides, who benefits, and who bears the costs of solar energy projects. If these dimensions are ignored, the green energy transition risks reproducing extractive and unjust patterns known from fossil fuel systems, undermining both biodiversity protection and public acceptance.
JustBioSolar addresses this challenge by examining ground-mounted solar energy deployment as a biodiversity-climate-society nexus, aiming to support a renewable energy transition that is not only low-carbon, but also nature-positive and socially just.
