FAR from being “green”, many hydroelectric power schemes release more
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than large coal-fired power stations,
because of the rotting vegetation they contain. So says the World Commission on
Dams, a group of scientists, engineers and environmentalists supported by the
World Bank, the world’s biggest funder of large dams.
The report comes just as engineers are arguing that dams should qualify for
support as a “clean” technology under the Kyoto Protocol agreed in 1997. The
commission will report its findings later this month at a meeting in Bonn to
discuss the Clean Development Mechanism, a key…
