Novia UAS hosted a side event at the United Nations COP16 Biodiversity Summit in Colombia
On October 30th, Novia University of Applied Sciences co-hosted a panel discussion on “Biodiversity Threats from Climate Change and the Energy Transition” during COP16. Held at “Casa Humboldt” in Cali, Colombia, the event featured experts from various disciplines, both in person and online.
Dr. Jorge Gomez-Paredes, RDI Team Leader on Energy Transition at Novia UAS, served as the keynote speaker and moderator. The panel included Dr. Paula Prist from EcoHealth Alliance, Dr. Alex Godoy-Faúndez from the University for Development in Chile, Dr. Elizabeth Steyn from the University of Calgary, and Dr. Amanda Irwin from the University of Sydney.
Key takeaways from the discussion
Dr. Gomez-Paredes opened the event with a brief talk on energy decarbonization trends over the past decades. He discussed how the implementation of renewable energy has not phased out fossil fuels and emphasized the urgent need for an energy transition to effectively mitigate and adapt to climate change. Dr. Gomez-Paredes then pointed out that the growing human socio-economic metabolism continues to place immense pressure on ecosystems worldwide and cautioned that the energy transition may not reduce this metabolism as it could shift us from a fossil fuel-intensive present to a mineral-intensive future, requiring increasing material inputs.
Dr. Prist then addressed the dangerous effects of climate change, both for biodiversity and human health. She explained that many species will not be able to adapt and are likely to face extinction, while others -like mosquitos- will likely thrive, expand their habitats, and further spread diseases. She highlighted that these changes, combined with the effects of warming on human immune systems, underscore the critical need for swift climate change mitigation.
Dr. Steyn followed with a discussion on critical minerals (a.k.a. energy transition minerals) essential for renewable energy technologies, battery storage, and electric vehicles. She shared the staggering estimates of mineral demands driven by the global push toward net-zero emissions and raised concerns about the risk that condoning mining (including deep seabed mining) at all costs in the name of climate mitigation could have on biodiversity.
Dr. Irwin then explained how economic activity, in general, is associated with biodiversity impacts and emphasized the need for demand-side interventions to reduce the extraction of materials required to support the consumption of goods and services. She argued that, when combined with better mining practices, such interventions could help balance the need for the energy transition with the goal of halting biodiversity loss caused by material extraction.
Dr. Godoy-Faúndez followed with a commentary on how the potential negative impacts of the energy transition on biodiversity have been addressed in global reports by the IPCC and IPBES. He pointed out that more efforts are needed to better connect the strategies outlined in these reports and to view the effects of the energy transition on biodiversity not as an externality, but as a critical issue that must be minimized through targeted investments in conservation, restoration, and rehabilitation.
The panel then discussed the importance of pursuing a fast yet sustainable energy transition, one based on an economy that maximizes material efficiency and minimizes waste before increasing extraction rates (i.e., a circular economy). However, considering the current pace at which the circular economy is being implemented and the challenges of circularizing global supply chains, the panelists agreed that strategies for the energy transition should also include planned reductions in consumption levels, accompanied by well-managed social and economic adjustments.
This event exemplifies Novia UAS’s commitment to addressing climate change and biodiversity loss through sustainable energy solutions.