Climate Change

The World Bank’s Answer to Climate Change in Africa Shouldn’t Be More Big Dams

Reservoir behind Kariba Dam on the Zambezi
The World Bank has pledged to scale up its lending for climate change to $13 billion by 2020. But are the projects it's supporting actually addressing climate challenges?

Water Insecurity & Climate Change In Africa

The Niger, Nile and Zambezi basins
We know climate change is disrupting life across the planet. But how will it affect access to fresh water in Africa? We investigate.

Hydropower and the Challenge of Climate Change: Foreign Policy

Hoover Dam
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Clean hydroelectric plants are meant to help the world fight global warming. But what happens when climate change clouds hydro's own future? From Foreign Policy magazine.

Protecting Rivers, Reducing Climate Vulnerability

Climate change is bringing more extreme floods and droughts. Floodplains, marshes, dunes, reefs and mangrove forests - often referred to as green infrastructure or bioshields - are vital to making our societies more climate resilient in the face of extreme weather events. Large dams built today not only weaken the climate resilience of riverine ecosystems, but are themselves highly vulnerable to a changing climate.

A Risky Climate for Southern African Hydro

The 13 major sub-basins of the Zambezi River Basin.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
An in-depth study of the hydrological risks to hydropower dams on the Zambezi River gives an early warning about what Southern Africa could be facing as it contemplates plans for more large hydropower dams in a time of climate change.

Climate Change and African Rivers

Hydrodependency in Africa: Risky Business
Hydrodependency in Africa: Risky Business Africa has been deemed “the continent most vulnerable to the impacts of projected climate change” by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The continent has one of the most volatile water systems on the planet, and its rivers routinely experience wild swings in flow. For example, variation in the Zambezi River is estimated to be ten times higher than that of most European rivers. This situation will only worsen with climate change. Despite this hydrological risk, thousands of megawatts of hydropower are being proposed for Africa's r

Climate Change, Rivers and Dams: A Video Exploration

Lake Mead July 2008
This toolkit includes a lesson plan that features a 20-minute video called "Wrong Climate for Damming Rivers, which uses Google Earth to visualize what might happen to the world's major rivers when climate change and the current dam-building boom collide. Students will be encouraged to think critically about the role of dam-building in a changing global environment from a systems-level perspective, at times taking on the role of different stakeholders to understand the complexity of the problem. This toolkit includes the video, extension ideas, and links to additional resources.

Toolkit for Educators: Climate Change, Rivers and Dams

Glacial lakes in Bhutan
International Rivers has created a toolkit, Climate Change, Rivers and Dams: A Video Exploration, for educators and community leaders around the issue of dams, rivers and climate change. This toolkit includes a lesson plan that features the "Wrong Climate for Damming Rivers" 3-D Google Earth video, which uses Google Earth to visualize what might happen to the world's major rivers when climate change and the current dam-building boom collide. This toolkit also includes the video, extension ideas, and links to additional resources. Available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

World Bank, Climate Change and Energy Financing: Something Old. Something New?

Friday, April 15, 2011
In April, 2011, we co-authored a report with Groundwork and Friends of the Earth on energy financing at the World Bank, titled "World Bank, Climate Change, and Energy Financing: Something Old. Something New?". Read the report below, and download the report at the link that follows. Download the report (courtesey of Scribd)

Investigative Report Exposes Fraudulent CDM Hydropower Project in China

Thursday, November 25, 2010
Investigative Report Exposes Forced Evictions and Fraudulent Claims at Chinese CDM Hydropower Project A field visit by Germany's GEO Magazine finds that the Taijiang Yanzhai Hydropower Project located in Guizhou province, China, does not deserve to receive carbon credits through the UN's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). GEO Magazine found that the project does not result in real greenhouse gas emission reductions and also violates the rights of the local population. Local dam-affected farmers assert that they were forcibly evicted from their homes. The Project Design Document (PDD)

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