Durante a cúpula climática da COP26, os países membros da ONU irão discutir: (1) se deve ser estendido um programa que aprovou mais de 2.000 projetos hidroelétricos como compensações de carbono; e (2) se as barragens devem contar para as metas de redução de emissões, medidas pelos países membros da ONU como “Contribuições Determinadas a…
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by Justin Muhl and Josh Klemm As delegates converge at COP26 in Glasgow this week, many are promoting the notion of hydropower as central to weaning our energy systems off of fossil fuels. Yet hydropower generates significant greenhouse gases, particularly methane, and is one of the most vulnerable energy technologies to the impacts of climate…
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By Hydro Empowerment Network (HPNET) Originally published on HPNet’s website The river basins of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Meghna, and Salween (GBMS) Rivers are endowed with rich natural resources, exceptional biodiversity, and vibrant indigenous cultures. Yet social and environmental well-being continue to be undermined by large hydro development, as decision makers seek economic prosperity and economic…
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***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** Manila, Philippines –Civil society groups across South, Southeast and Central Asia are raising the alarm as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) gears up to announce a new Energy Policy that — unless recalibrated — will fail to reflect the realities of climate science and local peoples’ burning concerns. On September 6th, the…
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This year, Earth Day and UN World Environment Day both focus on restoration, for good reason; 97% of Earth’s land area may no longer be ecologically intact. If we don’t urgently make recovery and investment choices that change course, our ecosystems, and humanity itself are on a path to collapse. We’re facing multiple crises: a global pandemic,…
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Last week, the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) announced their approval of a new bond certification scheme for hydropower.1 This represents an unfortunate setback for the climate and for meaningful efforts to address the climate crisis. As our written submissions into the process pointed out,2 the CBI hydropower standard will generate no tangible climate benefit and…
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By Darryl Knudsen, International Rivers Executive Director As the executive director of International Rivers, I highly recommend Rivers and Sustainable Development: Alternative Approaches and their Implications by Professor S. Nazrul Islam (2020). Whether you are just getting started on your journey to becoming a river activist or you are already an expert in water policy…
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Finds spate of new hydropower projects to be anything but “sustainable,” calls for an immediate moratorium Charts energy solutions that deliver sustainable jobs, better boost economies, reduce emissions, protect biodiversity Comes on the heels of an announcement that the world’s largest dam removal will proceed More than 225 organizations from 60 countries have signed a…
Read MoreNo 20º aniversário do histórico Relatório da Comissão Mundial de Barragens , um novo relatório da International Rivers and Rivers without Boundaries traça um curso alternativo para o desenvolvimento da energia na pós-pandemia que se contrasta com tentativas de reativar a indústria de barragens hidrelétricas, atualmente em declinio. Conforme detalhado no relatório “Rivers for Recovery: Protecting Rivers and Rights as Essential for…
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Rulings loom as UNGA meets on biodiversity OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA—A new report by the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, Earth Law Center, and International Rivers finds that a movement to grant legal rights to rivers and nature is rapidly gaining momentum globally. The report examines how the ancient notion that nature possesses basic rights…
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São Paulo and Brasilia – More than 60 civil society organizations and networks, including International Rivers, delivered this Thursday (August 6) to members of the Brazilian Congress, foreign investors and European parliamentarians a letter proposing five emergency measures to contain the deforestation crisis in the Brazilian Amazon. One of the measures is the establishment of a moratorium…
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