Study Linking China’s Solar Policy to Bird Harm Faces Backlash Over Suspected Counting Errors

A study in one of the world’s top scientific journals concluded that China’s policy-driven solar energy expansion was harming bird diversity, yet it has faced criticism after allegations emerged that the analysis may have relied on observations of 2.1 billion little egrets recorded in a single park—exceeding the species’ entire global population.

It also ignited heated debate on social media regarding negative narratives about China’s green energy sector.

The study in question—conducted by researchers in China, Vietnam, and the United States—was published in Science magazine, a leading US peer-reviewed journal, on August 20. It compared the strength of China’s solar policy against changes in bird diversity from 2014 to 2023.

The data used to populate a bird diversity index was drawn from the China Birdwatching Record Centre, the country’s largest citizen-science bird observation platform.

Late last month, the China Ornithological Society warned of potential errors in the centre’s records via a social media post, suggesting they may have influenced the paper’s conclusions.

The society specifically cited a 2015 log of 2.1 billion little egrets in a wetland and a 2022 entry of 1.3 billion red-billed blue magpies in a park, both in Guangdong province.

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