100+ NGOs write to EU negotiators asking them to protect Europe’s rivers from new hydropower deployment in the revised Renewable Energy directive.
Ahead of the next political trilogue on the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive, more than 100 NGOs are sending an open letter to co-legislators from the European Parliament, European Commission and Council Presidency, asking them to exclude hydropower from go-to areas as well as to include sustainability criteria recognizing that hydropower has direct impacts on freshwater ecosystems which must be mitigated.
Because hydropower potential has been so exploited already in Europe, new hydropower would only make a small contribution to the energy transition, while causing immense damage to our waterways. According to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2022, freshwater species populations have seen the greatest overall global decline (83%), and within this species group, on average, monitored migratory fish populations have declined by 93% in Europe, making our continent the most affected.
Open letter: https://bit.ly/3HBjC8v
Contact
Florian Cassier
Climate Communications Officer
fcassier@wwf.eu
+32 479 33 92 11