Reasons Why Large Hydropower Is a False Solution to Climate Change

According to tha article written by Peter Bosshard on Hydropowers, in tropical regions, hydropower reservoirs emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases. in some cases, hydropower projects are producing higher emissions than coal-fired power plants generating the same amount of electricity.

Rivers take about 200 million tons of carbon out of the atmosphere every year. 

Hydropower dams make water and energy systems more vulnerable to climate change. Unprecedented floods are threatening the safety of dams. 

Dams cause severe and often irreversible damage to critical ecosystems. 

Large hydropower projects have serious impacts on local communities and often violate the rights of indigenous peoples to their lands, territories, resources, governance, cultural integrity and free, prior informed consent. 

Large hydropower projects are not always an effective tool to expand energy access for poor people.  Large hydropower projects are often built to meet the demands of mining and industrial projects even if they are justified by the needs of the poor.

Wind and solar power have become readily available and financially competitive, and have overtaken large hydropower in the addition of new capacity. As grids become smarter and the cost of battery storage drops, new hydropower projects are no longer needed to balance intermittent sources of renewable energy.

Climate finance for large hydropower projects crowds out support for real solutions such as wind, solar and micro hydropower, and creates the illusion of real climate action.

See more: 

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/12/04/ten-reasons-why-large-hydropower-false-solution-climate-change