Through its research, expertise and capacity for innovation, and via its partnerships with numerous public and private players, BRGM helps advance knowledge and develop solutions to meet environmental and climate challenges, and is active in each of the five strategic goals of the ecological transition:
- Mitigating climate change,
- Adapting to climate change,
- Sustainable management of natural resources,
- Protecting biodiversity,
- Reducing pollution.
Climate, the main concern of the institution’s science strategy
BRGM's ten-year science strategy, revised in 2024, now focuses on adaptation to climate change and the ecological transition. The prospect of the climate in France warming by more than 4°C by 2100 will determine a large part of BRGM's scientific orientations over the next 10 years, in order to:
- contribute to adapting to the effects of climate change, through better management of water resources, coastlines and soils, etc.
- and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, through the development of decarbonised, efficient and resilient energy systems and the storage of CO2, all with a priority focus on nature-based solutions.
The ecological transition also depends on access to mineral resources and the protection of ecosystems, biodiversity and human health. The six objectives of BRGM's scientific strategy have therefore been revised to meet the challenges of these fundamental environmental issues.
The six scientific and societal issues that structure BRGM's work enable it to act on each of the five dimensions of the ecological transition.
© BRGM
Six scientific and societal challenges for the ecological transition
The six scientific and societal challenges that underpin its strategy enable BRGM to act in various ways on each of the five dimensions of the ecological transition, as detailed in the diagram opposite.
BRGM is the French geological survey, a public institution reporting to the Ministries of Research, Ecology and the Economy, dedicated to furthering knowledge of geology, the corresponding phenomena and the related risks. It develops new methodologies and techniques, produces and disseminates data, and provides the necessary tools for:
- managing ground, the subsurface and resources,
- managing risks and preventing pollution,
- providing scientific input for policies to respond to climate change.
Its activities in France, and even at the European and international levels, are determined by major national policies, and it strives to meet the expectations of public authorities and society in general.
Whether in terms of climate change mitigation, adaptation or other transition issues, BRGM is committed to answering scientific questions to provide society with the understanding and weapons it needs to tackle the corresponding challenges.
It contributes to research projects with academic and industrial partners, provides independent expert appraisal services to public authorities to help shape and implement public policies, and is involved in training and scientific outreach.
Collective daily practices aimed at setting an example
In March 2025, BRGM adopted a Sustainable Development and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) master plan for the period 2025-2030.
This master plan is a strategic and ambitious transformation project covering all the institution's activities: research, public policy support, partnership research and expertise, post-mining management and support activities.
The “climate, biodiversity, resources” objective is broken down into three commitments covering the impact of BRGM's work on society, dialogue with civil society and reducing the environmental impact of the institution's own activities.
Through its research, expertise and capacity for innovation, and through its partnerships with numerous public and private players, BRGM is helping to advance knowledge and develop solutions to meet environmental and climate challenges.
Mitigating climate change
Illustration of a CO2 storage device integrated in a geothermal well, allowing the dissolution of CO2.
© BRGM
The national low-carbon strategy describes the path the government intends to take to enable France to meet its 2030 and 2050 climate targets, while the multiannual energy programme sets out the energy policy objectives. In particular, these two strategies form the national roadmap for reducing fossil fuel consumption.
There are also sectoral plans, such as the national action plan for the development of geothermal energy, the national strategy for CCUS (carbon capture utilisation and storage) and the national hydrogen strategy.
By combining laboratory experimentation, use of its own or national experimental platforms, modelling of coupled multi-physical phenomena, and gathering and capitalising on relevant subsurface data, BRGM aims to contribute to the emergence and consolidation of solutions that can be implemented at both site-specific and regional levels.
The development of geothermal energy
The development of geothermal energy, a renewable, non-intermittent and local energy source that can replace fossil fuels for the supply of heat and/or cooling, and even electricity in certain contexts, is a strategic priority.
BRGM's work covers, in particular, the study of energy systems, the characterisation of the resource and the conditions under which it can be exploited, the creation of maps showing the suitability of the subsurface at different depths by producing three-dimensional static models, the dynamic modelling of fluid flows, the study of the risks and impacts associated with exploiting the subsurface and the development of tools to manage them, and also the development of innovations to make geothermal energy more attractive.
It moreover exploits the thermal potential of former mining sites and is working to develop brownfield sites for photovoltaic production, while its subsidiary CFG, an engineering firm specialising in geothermal energy, supports industrial companies in operational projects.
Underground energy storage
Against a backdrop of seasonal requirements and increased use of often intermittent renewable energies, energy systems need to increase their temporary-storage capacity. In particular, BRGM is working on the underground storage of energy (heat/cold) or energy carriers (hydrogen, gas, etc.). This involves understanding and modelling the subsurface, studying the physicochemical mechanisms involved and the related risks, and integrating storage possibilities into surface energy systems.
Natural hydrogen
Exploring the potential energy resources of our subsurface also involves natural hydrogen, another clean energy source that could, in theory, make a significant contribution to replacing fossil fuels: at this very early stage of knowledge, the main aim is to explore and characterise this complex and still poorly understood resource.
Secure carbon sequestration
Because gross emission reductions, crucial though they are, will probably not be sufficient to achieve full carbon neutrality, BRGM is developing the scientific knowledge needed for secure underground carbon sequestration, as part of European and national research projects, with a view to developing the first pilot sites in France.
Storage of radioactive waste
BRGM provides Andra with subsurface expert appraisal for the development of stable and safe long-term storage of radioactive waste, an essential condition for maintaining the role of nuclear power in our electricity mix.
Breakdown of the 5 geographical zones targeted by the mineral resources inventory.
© BRGM
Mineral resources
Because the transition will depend in particular on access to a number of sometimes critical mineral resources, BRGM has undertaken, at the government's request, to analyse our dependence on supplies and to support mineral diplomacy, in particular by contributing actively to OFREMI.
Over and above the issues of sovereignty, dependence also has the consequence of transferring to other countries the impacts associated with the transition. This is why an inventory of mineral resources (IRM - inventaire des ressources minérales) aimed at updating our knowledge of the resources potentially available in our national subsurface, has been undertaken. Over a 5-year period, the IRM will update our knowledge of the mineral resources available in our subsurface, using advanced geophysical and geochemical acquisition and analysis methods.
Last but not least, we should also mention the institution's many innovations for the responsible exploration and exploitation of primary and secondary mineral resources (waste recovery and recycling), with the aim of reducing the overall environmental footprint (greenhouse gas emissions, but also water and energy consumption) of the metals cycle.
Adapting to the consequences of climate change
MétéEAU Nappes: display of the national groundwater situation at the beginning of the month or for past months
© BRGM
The 3rd national climate change adaptation plan is the reference framework for national action. It sets out 52 measures divided into five strategic objectives, covering more than 200 actions. BRGM is cited in 11 of these measures. BRGM also contributes to a number of regional initiatives, including the “Regional Climate-Expert Groups”.
The 6th IPCC report highlighted knowledge gaps to which the geosciences can provide answers:
- How can we better characterise the feasibility, effectiveness, co-benefits, trade-offs and limits of measures to adapt to climate change?
- How can we better characterise complex, cascading risks and their propagation?
- How can we reduce the reporting bias inherent in building up scientific evidence based on a multitude of local projects?
BRGM's work on water and natural hazards is a fundamental contribution both to public policies on adaptation and to research efforts to overcome the scientific barriers involved. It concerns the entire adaptation cycle. It should also be noted that this work is supported by BRGM's digital infrastructure, which contributes to the development of climate services for adaptation to climate change.
Anticipating and acting for better water management
Concerning water, BRGM is developing methods for collecting and using data, and tools for forecasting changes in the quantity and quality of water resources, taking into account trend scenarios for climate change as well as internal climate variability. In addition, it develops tools for decision-makers based on the near-real-time state of resources (for sustainable management and crisis management) and their short, medium and long-term evolution.
It also proposes governance tools for regional water management, which are essential for the proper management of sobriety and adaptation policies rooted in local realities and frameworks for action. It contributes to the development of direct adaptation solutions such as the controlled recharge of aquifers or subsurface physical barriers to store water in aquifers or protect coastal aquifers from saline intrusion. Finally, it should be noted that as part of its post-mine mission, BRGM pumps 150 million m3 of water each year to prevent flooding and pollution; using this water before it is discharged is also being considered.
Improving knowledge of the subsurface
BRGM also plays a major role in investigating and managing changes in the ground and subsurface in the context of climate change. This concerns in particular the risk of clay shrinking and swelling, coastal risks (flooding, erosion) and landslides.
BRGM is modernising reference databases and setting up observatories through partnerships, and developing observation methods, data analysis and innovative modelling approaches in order to improve collective capacities for anticipation and to support public policies for adaptation and the provision of climate services.
Preventing the risks associated with rising sea levels
To help prevent the risks associated with sea-level rise and adapt to its consequences, BRGM conducts numerous studies that provide input for public policies, warning systems and coastal-zone management projects, and contributes to the development of demonstrators of climate service portals in this field.
Modelling risks
More generally, BRGM has developed cutting-edge expertise in multi-hazard and multi-vulnerability risk prediction and management models. It models environmental hazards and impacts with a focus on the effects of climate change, including combined and cascading effects, and develops methods for estimating future projections and uncertainties, as well as the necessary tools.
Preparing for extreme events
It also helps society prepare for extreme natural events: to this end, it conducts research aimed at developing tools and services that enable complex, realistic scenarios to be envisaged in near-real time, incorporating uncertainties as well as socio-technical constraints, in order to offer anticipation capabilities for crisis management and decision-making support.
Developing nature-based solutions
Finally, it is important to emphasise that BRGM's work through its “water” and “risks” programmes focuses in particular on the study and development of nature-based solutions for adaptation, for example by supporting the Conservatoire du littoral in adapting France’s coastline to climate change.
Rational management of natural resources
3D view of the 15 aquifers in the MONA model of northern Aquitaine.
© BRGM
Water resources
The Water Plan (2023) and the Overseas Departments Water Plan (2016) together form the main national roadmap for managing this shared resource; promoting more careful use, optimising availability, storing groundwater and preserving quality. The Water Plan is now broken down into plans for the major basins and linked to the 12th multiannual intervention programmes adopted by the Water Agencies.
Determining and managing groundwater resources
As co-pilot of the National Research Programme OneWater– Water as a Common Good and the State's delegated project coordinator for management of the national piezometric network, BRGM is France's leading player in the field of groundwater management. It focuses in particular on:
- continually improving our understanding and integration of the processes involved in the functioning of aquifers in order to achieve and maintain a good overall groundwater state, through a dual quantity-quality approach;
- acquiring, qualifying and enhancing water data and modelling the behaviour of aquifers for informed management and governance in a context of global climate change;
- deploying governance methods for integrated water management in regions, based on forecasting capabilities and strategies for managing aquifers and associated hydrosystems.
Regional action based on research and data
Committed to scientific research, public policy support and international cooperation, the institution develops and deploys digital tools for numerical modelling of the hydrogeological and biogeochemical functioning of aquifers, operates and enhances piezometric observation networks, and responds to national, regional and local needs for monitoring and managing the quality and quantity of aquifer systems and hydraulically associated and connected environments such as wetlands and watercourses, as support for public policy.
Its work involves the production of data, analyses, models and tools. It is also working on possible uses for agriculture, industry or human consumption of water from mining reservoirs, such as the one at Gardanne, and it manages facilities designed to protect water resources in regions affected by former mining operations, such as the Grand Est region. Through a dozen treatment plants, BRGM depollutes around 15 million m3 of water from former mining sites every year.
Plat'Inn targets the treatment of mineral resources and the recycling of waste likely to become a source of raw materials. The platform acts as an intermediary link between the laboratory and the industrial scale.
© BRGM
Mineral resources
France has an extensive and recent legislative and regulatory framework covering the management and use of the subsurface, particularly its mineral resources. These elements are part of a national policy on subsurface resources and uses, PRUSS (Politique nationale des Ressources et des Usages du Sous-Sol), that encompasses issues of responsible sourcing (through mines and quarries or waste recycling) and waste reuse and reduction. Following the example of the Roadmap for the Circular Economy (2019), the aim is to move from a linear economy to a more circular model integrating the entire life cycle of products, from their eco-design to waste management, including of course their use and consumption.
Controlling the life cycle
Observing the entire life cycle of mineral raw materials, the BRGM acts across several key stages — from the identification of deposits (complementing the work of the mineral resources inventory), the development of innovative processes that are sparing in their use of water and energy, and the valorisation of waste through recycling — in order to support the responsible sourcing of economic supply chains, working alongside both public authorities and industry.
Through its experimental platform Plat'Inn and its expertise in process engineering and mineral characterisation, it is developing innovative mining solutions:
- primary resources, improving energy efficiency and reducing the environmental impact of mining activities,
- secondary resources, i.e. high-performance technologies for recycling materials. This approach, which includes the optimisation of large-scale operations using numerical simulation, also extends to mining waste and its recovery.
Transparency and traceability
BRGM is also perfecting life cycle analysis methods and tools, and strives in particular to develop “resource” indicators (integrating recycling and circularity). Responsible sourcing also involves transparency, and since these are often international supply chain flows, BRGM is working to develop traceability solutions (geochemical and isotopic) for mineral resources.
Towards a responsible European mining sector
Lastly and more broadly, as part of a mining development drive in France and Europe, BRGM is contributing to a European definition and appropriation of the concept of “responsible mining and sourcing”. In doing so, it can draw on its experience of operational management of post-mining issues in France.
Protecting human health and biodiversity
PRIME, a research and innovation platform for environmental metrology. A plurimetric experimental pilot.
© BRGM - Hélène Fournié
The 4th national health and environment plan, launched in 2021, is the current public policy framework outlining the main national priorities and objectives in this area. Some sector plans, such as the Water Plan (2023), the ChlorDecone IV Plan (2021), the Ecophyto 2+ Plan (2024), etc. also address public health issues. With regard to biodiversity, the 3rd national biodiversity strategy adopted in 2023 sets out the major objectives and lines of action.
Protecting groundwater quality
BRGM's work on water quality contributes to these objectives of health and protection of ecosystems: for example, one of the goals of the national “OneWater - Water as a common good” programme, which it co-pilots, is to better understand and integrate the functioning processes of aquifers in order to achieve and preserve the good general state of groundwater bodies, emphasising the dual quantity-quality approach and interdependence. More generally, BRGM's ability to study and understand the bio-physical-geochemical processes at work in aquifers enables the development of tools for monitoring and reducing the impact of aquatic pollution on human health and ecosystems.
The institution participates in international projects on “Water and health” and has a framework agreement with ANSES.
Soil remediation and decontamination
As far as soil pollution is concerned, BRGM's work aims, by fully integrating natural and anthropogenic risks, to develop a more virtuous use of soil and the near subsurface in order to reduce the footprint of future activities, but also to develop methodologies for the remediation of so-called “inherited” pollution, in particular for the conservation and rehabilitation of degraded soils.
Following the recent European directive on soil monitoring and resilience, BRGM is developing a database on the quality of urban soils and in 2022 joined the Scientific Interest Group on soils. With a view to applying the principles of the circular economy to soil management and promoting the storage of carbon in soils, it is developing methods for the refunctionalisation of excavated earth, which accounts for 70% of construction and public works waste, so that it can regain its functions in providing a source of fertility, water storage/infiltration, habitat for biodiversity, etc.
Through its experimental platform PRIME, BRGM is now positioned as a European leader in research into the treatment of polluted soils, particularly by organic compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, organochlorine solvents, etc. Remediation of soil polluted by so-called emerging pollutants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkylated substances (PFAS), is one of the current priorities. It also looks at the possible impact of climate change on the fate of post-treatment pollution.
It produces data and analyses, and develops indicators of environmental degradation, in order to promote sustainable land management policies.
BRGM is also studying nature-based solutions for the remediation of degraded sites and soils, such as the implementation of phytostabilisation solutions to prevent the transfer of solid pollutants on former mining sites.
More generally, across the whole range of its activities (whether in the field of energy, mineral resources, etc.), BRGM is committed to studying and limiting the risks to the state of the environment, human health and biodiversity.
