Volume 1 Issue 9, September 2025

The mining industry has decades of experience in restoration, biodiversity management and conservation, often beyond the mine fence. Emma Gagen, Director of Data and Research at the International Council on Mining and Metals, argues that sustainable mining companies can navigate the challenges to achieving no net loss or a net gain of biodiversity.

The expansion of renewable energy is urgently needed to reduce carbon emissions, but it can entail some trade-offs with biodiversity. Here, we argue that synergistic implementation strategies are possible and should be prioritized. Decision-makers must also consider the counterfactual — that unchecked fossil fuel use is far worse for biodiversity than the modest effects of renewable energy development.

The environmental effects of deep-seabed mining can only be managed within acceptable limits if they are effectively monitored. To achieve this for deep-seabed mining in international waters, four critical components first need to be addressed by the International Seabed Authority: baseline knowledge, indicators and thresholds, area-based management tools, and technical capabilities.

Thermoelectric power plants discharge heat into water, which can harm aquatic species. Some regions regulate water discharge temperatures, but these regulations can cause outages, which makes compliance under global warming difficult to ensure. In this Comment, we argue that locally specific, optimized policies can help to balance biodiversity protection and energy demand.

This Review discusses the biodiversity effects of onshore wind energy generation (including changes to land and aerial habitats, altered wildlife behaviour and wildlife fatalities) and present and future opportunities to mitigate these impacts as the technology grows rapidly worldwide.

Offshore wind energy is key to the transition to renewable energies, but its development has varied effects on marine biodiversity. This Review explores how turbine structures can create new habitats while also causing ecological disturbance. The Review highlights knowledge gaps and discusses innovative methods for assessing, monitoring and mitigating environmental impacts.

Meeting climate goals requires minerals for renewable energy technologies and infrastructure. However, the mining to obtain these minerals negatively affects biodiversity and local communities, undermining conservation and sustainability goals. This Review explores the effects of mining for the renewable energy transition on biodiversity and social conflict.