“Could Large Hydro Sink Renewable Energy Expansion? TwelveReasons to Exclude Large Hydro from Renewables Initiatives”

摘要

Realizing the potential of new renewable energy technologies is vital if we are to achievernthe UN’s Millennium Development Goals of halving extreme poverty and hunger byrn2015 and reversing environmental degradation. The urgent need to address thesernchallenges has led to various international initiatives to promote the use of renewablernenergies. These initiatives could be counterproductive if, as the dam industry isrnadvocating, they are turned into instruments to promote large-scale hydropower projects.rnLarge hydro does not support sustainable development in the developing world, nor helprnmeet the UN’s Millennium Development Goals because it does not reduce thernenvironmental impact of energy production and consumption, and does not enhancernenergy security. Large hydro also threatens to capture the bulk of special funds aimed atrnpromoting renewables, hindering the spread of clean and sustainable technologies. In thisrnpaper, we will argue that it is thus imperative that large hydro be excluded fromrninitiatives to promote renewable energy technologies, such as the JohannesburgrnRenewable Energy Coalition or Kyoto Protocol carbon trading schemes.