Editor's note: Yu Chuxiao, a special commentator for CGTN, is associate professor at the Research Institute of Environmental Law, Wuhan University. Zhang Ziyao is a master student at the Research Institute of Environmental Law, Wuhan University. The article reflects the authors' opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The global shift toward clean energy is accelerating. As countries reduce their reliance on fossil fuels to mitigate climate change, solar and other renewable energy sources have emerged as a cornerstone of the low-carbon future. Yet, the physical footprint of this rapid expansion is vividly altering land cover and local ecosystems. A truly sustainable transition, therefore, cannot be evaluated through the single metric of carbon abatement alone; it must also account for how energy infrastructure interacts with the living world.

Against this backdrop, a recent study published in Science has sparked widespread discussion. Drawing on data from 2,344 Chinese counties between 2014 and 2023, the paper examines the localized impact of policies promoting solar photovoltaics on local bird diversity, suggesting that stronger pro-solar policies might lead to reductions in bird diversity, with land conversion identified as the main mechanism. Rather than serving as an indictment of solar power, the study provides a constructive lens on a broader dilemma: How can the clean energy rollout avert climate catastrophe without incurring avoidable ecological costs?

The 'green' dilemma

The Science study frames this challenge as a "green dilemma" – a potential friction between two indispensable ecological priorities. On the one hand, scaling up solar and other renewable energy sources is essential to cutting greenhouse gas emissions and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. On the other hand, large-scale energy infrastructure can occupy land, alter habitats and place new pressures on biodiversity.

However, viewing this tension as an either-or choice represents a fundamental misreading. Climate change itself remains one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss, affecting species, habitats and ecosystem functions worldwide. Replacing fossil fuels with low-carbon energy can therefore help reduce a long-term threat to biodiversity. The primary objective is not to halt the transition, but to maximize these systemic climate benefits while curbing localized ecological footprints.

This balanced imperative is explicitly recognized in the global environmental agenda. Target 8 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework specifically calls for climate action that minimizes negative impacts on biodiversity while fostering positive ones. It points toward an approach in which climate mitigation and biodiversity protection are considered together from the outset.

China's ecological approach

As the world's leading deployer of solar technology, China's evolving approach illustrates how renewable deployment can move beyond isolated engineering works toward integrated ecological co-design.

At the planning stage, national rules encourage photovoltaic projects to make greater use of deserts, Gobi areas, other arid land and existing developed land where appropriate, while requiring sites to avoid ecological conservation redlines and other protected or environmentally sensitive areas. This moves ecological protection upstream, making it part of decisions about where projects should be built rather than only a remedy after impacts occur.

At the project level, different landscapes have produced different forms of ecological integration. In Kubuqi Desert, located in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, photovoltaic development has been combined with desertification control through a model of power generation above the panels, planting below them and livestock raising between them. The National Energy Administration reported effective desert control over 27,000 mu (1,800 hectares) while artificial vegetation coverage also increased.

In pastoral regions, project design serves a different purpose. In Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of northwest China's Qinghai Province, a "solar plus ecology plus industry" model raises photovoltaic structures to leave more room for grass growth and livestock grazing. At a solar-grazing-storage project in Maqen County, yaks graze beneath the panels, allowing power generation and pastoral production to share the same land.

Ecological restoration provides another approach. In a photovoltaic parkin the Talatan Gobi Desert, vegetation coverage has been reported to have risen from below 2% to more than 80%. Measures around the project have also reduced wind speed and evaporation while allowing grazing beneath the panels.

These cases differ in landscape and purpose, but they follow a common logic. The ecological effects of solar infrastructure depend greatly on where it is located, how it is designed and how the land is managed over time. Solar development can therefore become part of a wider ecological and land-management system rather than remain a stand-alone engineering project.

Toward a multi-dimensional energy transition

Moving "beyond carbon" does not mean moving away from carbon reduction. It means making carbon reduction the starting point rather than the sole measure of green development. Solar, wind, hydropower and other renewable projects all interact with land, water, habitats and communities. Their environmental performance increasingly depends on whether climate and ecological objectives are considered together.

China's experience is still evolving, and no single model will fit every ecosystem. But its efforts to combine renewable energy planning with ecological protection, restoration and productive land use add practical experience to a challenge shared worldwide. As renewable energy continues to expand, such practices can contribute to the global search for clean energy infrastructure that coexists more effectively with nature.

The dialogue prompted by the Science study marks an essential step in the maturation of global clean energy. By coupling decarbonization goals with rigorous ecological foresight, the world can ensure that the infrastructure powering our green future leaves the natural world more resilient than before.

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