Letter sent to GCF Board and Advisors regarding concern on the use of GCF support for large hydropower

A coalition of 272 organizations argues that large hydropower projects do not meet the Green Climate Fund's (GCF) investment criteria due to greenhouse gas emissions, lack of innovation, and negative social and environmental impacts. The letter specifically calls for the rejection or removal of three projects from the GCF pipeline: the Qairokkum Hydropower Rehabilitation in Tajikistan, the Upper Trishuli-1 in Nepal, and the Tina River Hydro Project in the Solomon Islands.

• Large hydropower projects are claimed to violate GCF Investment Criteria across five dimensions: they emit greenhouse gases (especially methane) and damage carbon sinks; they lack technical or financial innovation; they cause irreversible harm to ecosystems, human rights, and livelihoods while often exceeding budget estimates; they increase the climate vulnerability of countries already over-dependent on hydro; and they suffer capacity losses due to climate-induced droughts.
• The Qairokkum Hydropower Rehabilitation project in Tajikistan is identified as a non-innovative effort to extend the life of a 1950s Soviet-era dam that fails to address original environmental problems and increases the country's dependence on climate-vulnerable energy.
• The Upper Trishuli-1 project in Nepal is criticized for lacking transformational impact due to the high density of other hydro projects on the Trishuli River, and for failing to assess vulnerability to earthquakes in a highly seismic area.
• The Tina River Hydro Project in the Solomon Islands, a 15 MW project, is described as costly and lacking a climate vulnerability assessment, while posing a threat to a biodiversity hotspot.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (2017). Letter sent to GCF Board and Advisors regarding concern on the use of GCF support for large hydropower. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/letter_on_large_hydro_and_the_gcf_march_2017.pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. Letter sent to GCF Board and Advisors regarding concern on the use of GCF support for large hydropower. 2017. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/letter_on_large_hydro_and_the_gcf_march_2017.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=Letter sent to GCF Board and Advisors regarding concern on the use of GCF support for large hydropower |date=31 March 2017 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/letter_on_large_hydro_and_the_gcf_march_2017.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{carbonmarketwatch2017letter, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{Letter sent to GCF Board and Advisors regarding concern on the use of GCF support for large hydropower}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2017}, month = mar, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/letter_on_large_hydro_and_the_gcf_march_2017.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }