The clean energy transition is fueling unprecedented growth in mining for metals and aggregates. This push to decarbonize drives operations into biodiversity hotspots, creating a direct conflict between climate goals and conservation. Mining impacts biodiversity through diverse pathways that extend far beyond its physical footprint and can persist, or worsen, long after operations cease. With only a small fraction of mines undergoing successful restoration, the cumulative environmental burden from active and legacy mines creates substantial conservation challenges. Yet, mining depends on biodiversity for services like water purification for processing minerals and seed dispersal for ecological restoration.

This session will present evidence of these impacts across multiple scales, bringing together researchers, industry, policymakers, and Indigenous and local knowledge holders to explore transformative mitigation strategies. We will also explore how mining companies can address their nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities. We invite submissions covering the full mining lifecycle, from impact assessment and large-scale mapping to the development of quantification tools that reduce habitat loss and pollution, and rehabilitation methods to restore or enhance biodiversity. Studies on energy transition materials (metals, aggregates) and the legacy impacts of coal are encouraged.

We aim to foster dialogue on the biodiversity-climate nexus at the heart of the energy transition. By bringing together diverse stakeholders, we will identify pathways that reconcile mineral demand with global biodiversity targets. Ultimately, we will produce key recommendations for science, policy, and practice to ensure mining supports a nature-positive future.