"BRGM plays a pivotal role in current affairs and national priorities on the major issues of our century."

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Légende

Former underground tufa quarry.(Indre, France, 2023). © BRGM - Silvain Yart

In 2023, BRGM played a leading role in current events and the shaping of national priorities on the major issues of our century: adapting to climate change and the need for energy and industrial sovereignty. Our commitment has proven its worth in France, of course, but also internationally, on all fronts:

• Risks, exacerbated by climate change, have been a major preoccupation, with many regional and local authorities asking us for advice, particularly on coastal hazards and the shrinkage and swelling of clay formations;
• Water: short-, medium- and long-term forecasting tools have been developed and we have widened our research to anticipate the consequences of climate change on water resources, while promoting ways of adapting, such as those based on nature; the groundwater bulletin is now issued monthly, and was even published fortnightly during the drought crisis;
• The potential of the subsurface for the energy transition: we have taken on the task of characterizing geothermal potential as part of the national plan. The national inventory of CO₂ storage potential in France has begun.
• Mineral resources to support the ecological and digital transitions, and our country's sovereignty: the French President has announced the undertaking of a new inventory of mineral resources as part of our country's ecological planning; the French Observatory of Mineral Resources for Industrial Sectors (OFREMI) has started work and proved its relevance.
  Internationally, with more than €7m in contracts signed this year, our partnership with AFD makes us an effective contributor to French development aid, particularly concerning water. Furthermore we are increasingly involved in supporting mineral resources diplomacy.

BRGM has also worked in the digital field, a key element of our future, by helping to develop the France Green-Nation roadmap.  

BRGM's strengths were highlighted in 2023, and we shall continue to consolidate them in 2024: 

• We have signed a remarkably ambitious ‘objectives, resources and performance’ contract for 2023-2027. The French government has committed to providing new resources for BRGM's development, which is a real sign of confidence from our supervising ministries;
• Our priority research and equipment programmes (PEPRs), the key elements of the national research programme in the framework of  ‘France 2030’, have been launched. By co-leading three of them (OneWater - on water, IRiMa - on risks, SOUSSOL - on subsurface potential) and being involved in a fourth (RECYCLING), we are helping to unite the national scientific community around major strategic challenges that will shape our country. The excellence of our interdisciplinary research, which is resolutely focused on providing reliable input for public policy, has thus been recognised;
• We have consolidated our high-level, independent and impartial research and expertise, which is recognised and appreciated but also exposes us to critical review and possibly controversy.

The year 2023 was also marked by a major industrial action to secure higher wages commensurate with our commitments and the challenges we face. Despite this campaign, in 2023 contracts were signed covering two years of business ahead of us, so that we have once again achieved a positive net result, with the hiring of 60 new employees. Throughout the movement, the women and men at BRGM remained constantly mobilised to deal with this growth, which clearly reflects the accelerated impact of climate change. Their commitment and expertise are highlighted in this annual report, which demonstrates the need for science, our usefulness, and more than ever, recognition, which is our principal raison d’être.

In 2024, BRGM will be facing increasing demands, concerning all the societal issues it covers and will be helping to implement the State's climate strategy. We need to develop rapidly, supported by our objectives, resources and performance contract. Together, we shall light the way for science in the service of society.