Letter

Mr. Sanderson Alberto Medeiros Leitão Global Climate Changes Division Head Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation Esplanada dos Ministérios, Bloco E - 2 andar - sala 268 70067-900, Brasilia-DF Brazil Dear Mr. Sanderson Alberto Medeiros Leitão, We are writing to express our concern regarding the applications of controversial large Brazilian dam projects for carbon credits within the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). These projects include the Madeira Complex projects – 3150 MW Santo Antônio Hydropower Project and the 3750 MW Jirau Dam – and the 1820 MW Teles Pires Dam in th

After receiving over 200 letters from concerned citizens regarding the threat that the global dam building boom poses to World Heritage sites, the Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre issued a public response. The response addresses a number of key concerns and highlights recent developments to improve access to information, including a live webcast of the upcoming 36th session of the World Heritage Committee (available soon) and the publication of all state of conservation reports and draft decisions ahead of the 36th session. Download a copy of the letter.

Comments on the Jirau Hydropower Project Submitted to Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance Ltd. We are writing to express our concerns over the application for validation of the Jirau Hydropower Project in Brazil. The Project Design Document (PDD) for this project is flawed and inaccurate. In addition, CDM validation of this project would reward not only a clearly non-additional project, but also one of the most socially and environmentally destructive dams in the Amazon Basin. Summary of Key Concerns The project does not comply with the EU-ETS and EC regulation on the 3rd trading phase. G

Letter written by a coalition of NGOs to the World Bank on May 21, 2012, raising concerns regarding the Ethiopia-Kenya transmission line

Comments on the Jirau Hydropower Project: Transboundary Impacts Submitted to Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance Ltd.I am writing to express my concerns over the application for validation of the Jirau Hydropower Project in Brazil. The Project Design Document (PDD) for this project is deeply flawed and inaccurate. This is particularly true in relation with transboundary environmental impacts, as is described below. Summary of Key Concerns The project will have serious transboundary environmental and social impacts in Bolivia and Peru. Both independent technical studies and IBAMA (Instituto B

THE JIRAU DAM'S CDM PROPOSAL: COMMENTS ON THE PROJECT DESIGN DOCUMENTUpdated version: June 1, 2012 Philip M. Fearnside National Institute for Research in Amazonia (INPA) Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil pmfearn@inpa.gov.br THE JIRAU DAM Two dams, Santo Antônio and Jirau, are nearing completion on the Madeira River, a major Amazon tributary that drains parts of Brazil, Bolivia and Peru. Both dams have applications pending for carbon credit under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The Jirau Dam, located in Brazil’s state of Rondônia near the border with Bolivia, is being built

Dear Methodology Panel members, As an expert reviewer for two previous versions of this methodology I recommend that those methodologies not be accepted on the basis that they did not accurately estimate the change in emissions caused by these projects or appropriately test the additionality. Some of the problems I raised are not resolved in the currently proposed methodology, NM0358, and I believe it would be a mistake for the methodology panel to accept this methodology as it is currently written. First, the methodology panel should understand that grid interconnection is common practic

Comments on the Santo Antônio Hydropower Project Submitted to the Perry Johnson Registrars Carbon Emissions ServicesWe are writing to express our concerns over the application for validation of the Santo Antônio Hydropower Project in Brazil. The Project Design Document (PDD) for this project is deeply flawed and inaccurate. In addition, CDM validation of this project would reward not only a clearly non-additional project, but also one of the most socially and environmentally destructive dams in the Amazon Basin. Summary of Key ConcernsThe project clearly does not meet criteria for addition

Comments on the Project Design Document for the Santo Antônio Dam's CDM Proposal Updated version: June 2, 2012 Philip M. Fearnside National Institute for Research in Amazonia (INPA) Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil pmfearn@inpa.gov.br THE SANTO ANTÔNIO DAM Granting the Santo Antônio Dam Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs) under Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) would allow purchasers of these certificates to release 51 million tons of CO2-equivalent (CO2e) into the atmosphere elsewhere in the world. As will be explained here, none of the supposed reduction in CO2e from the dam project is real,

This letter from International Rivers to the Nam Theun 2 Power Company highlights the findings from a field visit to the Nam Theun 2 project area in September 2011 and information received from villages along the Xe Bang Fai in February 2012. During our visit the main issue facing villagers along the Xe Bang Fai was the impacts of the serious floods that had taken place in August 2011. Other issues that arose included the water quality on the Xe Bang Fai and associated skin rashes, problems with NTPC-supplied wells, reduction in fish catch, and concerns about compensation for riverbank gardens