Priorities in Action: Mapping a Climate-Resilient Future
SITE RENEWABLES RIGHT We are dedicated to helping Missouri transition toward producing 30% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. Financial tools, legislation and partnerships will help us get there. It is also important to find ways for the infrastructure that supports the growing renewable energy industry to coexist with natural systems. As much as 75% of the nation’s new large renewable energy projects will occur in the central U.S. Through smart planning with local governments, energy developers and policy leaders, those projects will speed the transition to diversified energy sources without destroying vulnerable ecosystems. Studies estimate there are roughly 120,000 square miles across 19 states in the central U.S. that offer the open spaces needed for renewables without causing problems for wildlife or important habitats. TNC’s Site Renewables Right map identifies where renewable energy can be developed in the central U.S. while conserving natural areas. RESILIENT AND CONNECTED LANDS MAPPING TOOL Conservation doesn’t happen in isolation. Every meadow, every stream, every region is a puzzle piece in a larger picture. TNC is part of an effort to figure out how those pieces fit together and then use that information and the resulting maps to make smart decisions about where to put time and resources. The Resilient and Connected Network is a proposed conservation network of representative climate-resilient sites designed to sustain biodiversity and ecological functions into the future under a changing climate. The network was identified and mapped during a 10-year period by TNC scientists using public data available at the state and national scale, and an inclusive process that involved 289 scientists from agencies, academia and NGOs across the United States. The Network is a starting point for conversations with local communities, Indigenous tribes, land trusts, agencies, corporations and funders about how to coordinate conservation efforts to increase our collective impact and sustain nature.
TOP TO BOTTOM: Wind turbine © Route 3 Films Mapping tool © The Nature Conservancy
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