Emissions from tropical hydropower and the IPCC

doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2015.03.002

Environmental Science & Policy

Volume 50, June 2015, Pages 225-239

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2015.03.002 Get rights and content

Highlights

•
Tropical dams emit greenhouse gases, which are undercounted in IPCC guidelines.
•
IPCC comparisons with other energy sources undercount hydroelectric emissions.
•
GHG inventories must fully count emissions as a basis for negotiating national quotas.
•
The IPCC needs to reassess emissions from dams independent of the hydropower industry.

Abstract

Tropical hydroelectric emissions are undercounted in national inventories of greenhouse gases under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), giving them a role in undermining the effectiveness of as-yet undecided emission limits. These emissions are also largely left out of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation, and have been excluded from a revision of the IPCC guidelines on wetlands. The role of hydroelectric dams in emissions inventories and in mitigation has been systematically ignored.

Section snippets

Emissions from tropical dams

Amazonian dams produce greenhouse gases, especially during their first 10 years of operation (e.g., Abril et al., 2005, Delmas et al., 2005, Fearnside, 2002a, Fearnside, 2005a, Fearnside, 2008a, Fearnside, 2009, Fearnside, 2013, Fearnside and Pueyo, 2012, Galy-Lacaux et al., 1997, Galy-Lacaux et al., 1999, Guérin et al., 2006, Gunkel, 2009, Kemenes et al., 2007, Kemenes et al., 2008, Kemenes et al., 2011, Pueyo and Fearnside, 2011). Published numbers for emissions from hydroelectric dams vary

Special report on renewable energy

The IPCC special report on renewable energy sources and climate change mitigation (IPCC, 2012) summarized its findings on emissions from hydroelectric dams as: “there is currently no consensus on whether reservoirs are net emitters or net sinks” (Arvizu et al., 2012, p. 84). The report classified hydropower as having half or less impact per kWh of electricity generated as compared to any other source, including wind and solar (Moomaw et al., 2012, p. 982) (Fig. 1). One factor that may, in part,

Turbines ignored

When water is released from the turbines it is under considerable pressure—for example, in the case of Brazil's Tucuruí Dam the pressure is approximately four atmospheres from the weight of the water at the level of the turbine intakes (currently at 40 m depth), plus one atmosphere from the air above the reservoir. This pressure is suddenly reduced to one atmosphere as the water emerges from the turbines, causing an immediate emission of gases. Much of this emission will occur almost

The sociology of science and dam emissions

Both scientific research and its interpretation for policy are done by human beings who act within the context of their social and institutional environments. The journal Climatic Change hosted a debate over this issue between this author (Fearnside, 2004, Fearnside, 2006) and the then-head of Eletrobrás (Rosa et al., 2004, Rosa et al., 2006b). The debate was refereed by Cullenward and Victor (2006), who pointed out that “A large proportion of the published work in this field comes directly

Conclusions

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines for national inventories of greenhouse-gas emissions need to be revised such that the required level of reporting on dams reflects the full extent of their emissions of all greenhouse gases. The IPCC also needs to conduct a thorough review of the subject independent of the hydropower industry.

Acknowledgements

The author's research is supported exclusively by academic sources: Conselho Nacional do Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq: Proc. 305880/2007-1; 304020/2010-9; 573810/2008-7; 575853/2008-5), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas—FAPEAM (Proc. 708565) and Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA: PRJ15.125). Marcelo A. dos Santos Júnior drafted the figures. Simone Athayde supplied bibliographic material. Reviewer comments were very helpful.

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View full text

Emissions from tropical hydropower and the IPCC

Highlights

Abstract

Section snippets

Emissions from tropical dams

Special report on renewable energy

Turbines ignored

The sociology of science and dam emissions

Conclusions

Acknowledgements

J. South Am. Earth Sci.

Energy Policy

Energy Convers. Manage.

Energy Policy

Ecol. Econ.

Ecohydrol. Hydrobiol.

Energy Policy

Chemosphere

J. Cleaner Prod.

Carbon dioxide and methane emissions and the carbon budget of a 10-years old tropical reservoir (Petit-Saut, French Guiana)

Global Biogeochem. Cycles

Trace gas radiative forcing indices

Technical summary

Carbon emission from hydroelectric reservoirs linked to reservoir age and latitude

Nat. Geosci.

Analysis of Proposed Hydroelectric Dams on the Río Baker in Chilean Patagonia

A avaliação econômica da co-geração em ciclo combinado com gaseificação de biomassa e gás natural no setor sucroacooleiro

Revista Brasileira de Energia

The dam debate and its discontents

Climatic Change

Biogeochemical distinction of methane releases from two Amazon hydroreservoirs

Chemosphere

Emissions of greenhouse gases from the tropical hydroelectric reservoir of Petit Saut (French Guiana) compared with emissions from thermal alternatives

Global Biogeochem. Cycles

Long term greenhouse gas emissions from the hydroelectric reservoir of Petit Saut (French Guiana) and potential impacts

Temporary storage of carbon in the biosphere does have value for climate change mitigation: a response to the paper by Miko Kirschbaum

Mitigation Adapt. Strategies Global Change

Estimate of degassing greenhouse gas emissions of the turbined water at tropical hydroelectric reservoirs

Verhandlungen Internationale Vereinigung für Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie

Comparison of greenhouse gas emissions from an old tropical reservoir and from other reservoirs worldwide

Verhandlungen Internationale Vereinigung für Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie

Production of the greenhouse gases CH4 and CO2 by hydroelectric reservoirs of the boreal region

Global Biogeochem. Cycles

First assessment of CH4 and CO2 emissions from shallow and deep zones of boreal reservoirs upon ice break-up

Lakes Reservoirs Res. Manage.

Hydroelectric dams in the Brazilian Amazon as sources of ‘greenhouse’ gases

Environ. Conserv.

Montreal meeting on ‘greenhouse’ gas impact of hydroelectric dams

Environ. Conserv.

Greenhouse-gas emissions from Amazonian hydroelectric reservoirs: the example of Brazil's Tucuruí Dam as compared to fossil fuel alternatives

Environ. Conserv.

The value of human life in global warming impacts

Mitigation Adapt. Strategies Global Change

Greenhouse gas emissions from a hydroelectric reservoir (Brazil's Tucuruí Dam) and the energy policy implications

Water Air Soil Pollut.

Why a 100-year time horizon should be used for global warming mitigation calculations

Mitigation Adapt. Strategies Global Change

Greenhouse gas emissions from hydroelectric dams: controversies provide a springboard for rethinking a supposedly “clean” energy source

Climatic Change

Do hydroelectric dams mitigate global warming? The case of Brazil's Curuá-Una Dam

Mitigation Adapt. Strategies Global Change

Production of the greenhouse gases CH₄ and CO₂ by hydroelectric reservoirs of the boreal region

First assessment of CH₄ and CO₂ emissions from shallow and deep zones of boreal reservoirs upon ice break-up