About
Infrastructure development lies at the heart of the energy transition — and at the heart of one of its most complex tensions. Renewable energy infrastructure is essential to decarbonizing our economies, yet its deployment can generate significant pressures on biodiversity, ecosystems, and landscapes. Roads, railways, energy networks, and production facilities all shape the territories they pass through, with ecological, social, and economic consequences that are often underestimated or poorly documented.
Addressing this tension demands rigorous, evidence-based knowledge about how infrastructure affects the natural world, what mitigation measures actually work, and how project design and planning can be improved to reduce negative impacts from the outset. It also requires structured dialogue between the scientific community, infrastructure operators, public authorities, and environmental organizations.
Mirova Research Center is committed to building that framework. Through partnerships with leading research institutions and programs, MRC supports the production of scientific knowledge on the biodiversity impacts of renewable energy and other infrastructure, the development of practical tools for operators and policymakers, and the emergence of a community of researchers dedicated to these questions
Partnerships
Through a three-year partnership with the Fondation pour la Recherche sur la Biodiversité (FRB), MRC has co-financed a major scientific initiative examining the biodiversity impacts of renewable energy infrastructure and the effectiveness of mitigation measures. Combining systematic literature reviews on onshore wind, offshore wind, and solar energy with targeted research project funding, the partnership has generated a unique body of knowledge for scientists, policymakers, and infrastructure operators alike. It stands as one of the most ambitious initiatives ever undertaken by a financial institution to rigorously assess the biodiversity footprint of its investments.
Observatoire des Énergies Renouvelables et de la Biodiversité
MRC has entered into a three-year co-financing agreement with the Observatoire des Énergies Renouvelables et de la Biodiversité, a national platform dedicated to monitoring and advancing knowledge on the interactions between renewable energy, biodiversity, soils, and landscapes. Through this partnership, MRC contributes to funding targeted research projects and scientific expertise directly aligned with the Observatoire’s core missions — supporting the development of practical guides and operational tools for renewable energy developers, and strengthening the evidence base available to policymakers and the sector at large.
MRC supports ITTECOP, a French national research program coordinated by the Ministry for Ecological Transition, ADEME, and the OFB, which investigates the relationships between infrastructure development, biodiversity, and landscapes. Through a four-year partnership, MRC contributes to funding research projects selected through a competitive call for proposals focused on the challenges facing infrastructure in territories undergoing climate change and biodiversity decline.