TRANS4BIO

01/04/2026 -

31/03/2029

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Integrated Energy Transition Across Scales for Climate-Resilient, Nature-Positive Biodiversity Pathways (SE, DE, EE, ZA)

As the world accelerates the shift to renewable energy to combat climate change, biodiversity loss remains an often-overlooked risk. Tripling renewable energy by 2030 creates unprecedented demands on natural resources, potentially harming ecosystems if mismanaged. This highlights a paradox of the energy transition: while essential for climate mitigation, it can inadvertently accelerate biodiversity loss and harm human health and well-being.

Governance efforts towards transformative change must consider the complex interdependencies between climate mitigation, the energy transition, and biodiversity conservation. Three key interactions warrant attention: misalignment between climate and biodiversity agendas; spatial competition between renewable energy infrastructure and conservation priorities; and increased pressure on environmental systems from resource extraction across global supply chains.

"Integrated Energy Transition Across Scales for Climate-Resilient, Nature-and-People Positive Biodiversity Pathways"

Main objectives

TRANS4BIO aims to provide evidence and analysis that support coordinated and enabling governance pathways needed for a transformative change to ensure nature and people-positive outcomes while reducing risks from narrowly-focused climate mitigation policies. To this end, the following sub-objectives are addressed: highlighting how the lack of integration between global climate and biodiversity agendas creates national energy transition implementation gaps; tracing how global supply chains and resource extraction for renewable energy connect to local biodiversity impacts across distant regions; examining how large-scale renewable energy infrastructure development in transboundary marine ecosystems can be aligned with biodiversity conservation priorities while balancing national energy security interests; understanding how urban energy transition impacts local biodiversity and citizen well-being across diverse socio-economic contexts.

Main results

Stretching across Europe and South Africa, TRANS4BIO employs theory-driven empirical research to analyse the interplay between climate mitigation, energy transition, biodiversity protection and well-being. The project consists of several interwoven elements: applying a systems thinking approach to establish the project’s conceptual foundations, ensuring effective integration and transnational added value; combining AI-powered document analysis, stakeholder interviews and participant observations to examine interactions between international climate and biodiversity agendas, especially regarding climate mitigation; conducting case studies in South Africa and the North Sea to assess the interplay between global mineral demand for energy transition, social impacts, and (marine) biodiversity conservation in transboundary settings; using an interdisciplinary and justice-oriented approach to address urban energy transition impacts on local biodiversity and citizen well-being; organising science-policy workshops and synthesising project insights to help decision-makers implement integrated approaches that protect both biodiversity and human well-being while advancing climate goals.

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