The Rivers for Climate Coalition, a collective effort of environmental, indigenous, and human rights groups, pointed to the “immense loss and damage suffered by the more than half a billion people impacted and displaced by hydropower dams, especially Indigenous Peoples.”
The coalition also highlighted the multiple recent studies showing that emissions, especially methane, at hydropower plants are much higher than previously understood. In some cases, hydropower dams emit twice as much carbon as they store.
A 2018 study showed that 14 dams in the Mekong River basin release more carbon emissions than fossil-fueled power plants, with researchers determining, “hydropower in the Mekong Region cannot be considered categorically as low-emission energy.”
“Another study last year found that hydropower in the Amazon river basin and the tropics have significant greenhouse gas emissions,” the coalition stated. “This is especially worrisome as most new planned hydropower is in tropical areas.”
In the lead-up to last year’s climate meeting, UN agencies urgently warned the world of the dangers and opportunity to reduce methane emissions - a greenhouse gas more than 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere, the groups said.
“We applaud the latest global effort to tackle methane emissions announced at COP27 last week, but most countries still don’t measure hydropower emissions to include in their calculations,” the coalition stated. “When measured, methane emissions from reservoirs are significant and much larger than expected. This is a major problem when hydropower is being falsely marketed as ‘clean,’ ‘green,’ or ‘carbon-emission free.; This narrative must be challenged, and accurate data provided so decision-makers can make the best investments to reduce emissions and harm. By not using accurate information, we’re heating up the world even faster with these false solutions,:
In 2021, a coalition of over 350 organizations from 78 countries delivered a declaration to the UNFCCC demanding that hydropower be excluded from UN climate finance mechanisms. The groups, representing civil society, Indigenous communities, and scientists, warned that scarce climate dollars could be wasted if the implementation plan for the Paris Agreement renews previous carbon trading schemes that incentivized large dams, according to the coalition.
In addition to their troublesome emissions, the coalition said hydropower dams become risky and fail to deliver reliable energy due to climate change.
“This year, the world saw unprecedented droughts in China, Europe, the US, Brazil, and Africa. Hydropower production dropped drastically and caused economic stoppages. In countries overdependent on hydropower, like China, this has caused a move backward to fossil fuels rather than forward to better and cleaner alternatives like wind, solar, and community-centered energy production. Another study showed how dams have caused unprecedented changes to the world’s rivers, exacerbating the biodiversity crisis,” the coalition revealed.
Next month, world leaders will come together in Montreal to discuss and agree on the global biodiversity framework.
“As many now realize, biodiversity loss and climate change are two sides of the same coin. Loss of species, water justice, Indigenous rights and climate goals and solutions must be interlinked and tackled together for the world to succeed in its goals for a liveable planet,” the coalition continued.
“New large hydropower projects have no place in energy transition plans in a world working to address catastrophic climate change, human rights, clean water access, and mass biodiversity loss. We have no time to waste on false solutions,” the groups concluded.
Representatives of member groups and Tribes from the Rivers for Climate Coalition, including three indigenous women leaders from Northern California, commented on coalition’s call on governments to avoid including new large hydropower projects in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and on financiers to avoid funding projects due to the climate and human rights risks associated with hydropower.
Danielle Frank of Ríos to Rivers and youth leader of the Hupa Tribe in the Klamath River Basin said, “Indigenous resistance to dams has been constant. We have known since the beginning that cutting off the flow of rivers destroys not just the fish and ecosystem, but the people who depend on these food sources and the cultural connections rivers provide. Cultures grew up on rivers–without rivers, we would not exist. Our people have suffered enough for the profit of others.”
"In 2024, four of the six Klamath River basin dams will be removed after a fight that has lasted longer than some lives of the indigenous peoples fighting for the revitalization of the lands and culture these dams are destroying,” said Brook Thompson, Yurok Tribe member, and Karuk. “This will be the largest dam removal project in history, and the people who have spent their lives advocating for these waters are counting the days.”
“Although the legal fight for the removal started in 2002 after one of the largest fish kills in history for this river basin, the fight for healthy water and the right to cultural resources provided by these rivers has been ongoing since colonization started. The removal of these dams gives us hope for a future with clean energy that is actually sustainable,” Thompson stated.
Regina Chichizola of Save California Salmon added, “We are so inspired by our board member Caleen Audrey Sisk (Winnemem Wintu Tribe) Youth Coordinator Danielle Rey (@Hoopa Valley Tribe) and former intern Brook Thompson (Yurok Tribe). They are fighting for our rivers and climate at COP27.”