A research from Switzerland has compared how France, Italy and Spain integrate biodiversity into renewable energy planning, spatial policy, and ecological impact monitoring under the European Green Deal. The findings show France and Spain have more advanced frameworks, while Italy remains more regionally fragmented, with major gaps in cumulative impact assessment across all three countries.
May 18, 2026
Scientists from Switzerland have conducted a comparative analysis of national policies in France, Italy and Spain on environmental integration of renewable energy projects, spatial planning, ecological monitoring and cumulative impact assessment.
The study examined how the three countries integrate biodiversity objectives into renewable energy deployment strategies under the European Green Deal framework. The researchers note that France, Italy and Spain are among Southern Europe’s leading renewable energy systems and share high ecological sensitivity, but follow different governance approaches: France operates a centralized model, while Italy and Spain rely on more decentralized, multi-level systems.
In the paper “Integrating biodiversity conservation into renewable energy development under the European Green Deal: A comparative analysis of national policies in France, Italy and Spain,” published in Environmental Challenges, the researchers analyzed 46 public policy documents – 15 from France, 13 from Italy, and 18 from Spain – covering energy, biodiversity, the circular economy and cross-cutting policy areas. The aim was to assess how effectively ecological considerations are integrated into energy planning, and how synergies and conflicts between biodiversity and renewable technologies, including solar, wind, bioenergy, hydropower, geothermal and marine energy, are addressed.
