After obtaining a PhD in economics on the instability of commodity markets, Tancrède joined the NGO Solagral in 1999, then CIRAD in 2000 and IDDRI in 2005 to develop research activities on the effects of globalisation on sustainable development. He has coordinated projects on this subject for the European Commission, the European Parliament and the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment.


Since 2010, his research has focused on the conditions for implementing sustainable development policies. He concentrates on public international financing and measures to support green technologies.