Flooding the land, warming the earth : greenhouse gas emissions from dams

This booklet reviews recent research, mostly in Canada and Brazil, indicating that dams and their associated reservoirs are globally significant sources of emissions of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and, in particular, methane. Even policy makers and scientists involved in the climate issue are largely unaware of the issue because the science is still relatively young and hydropower interests have little incentive to encourage the publication of research findings that may harm their industry. The booklet receommends that scientists should incorporate dams and reservoirs into their analysis of global sources of greenhouse gases. Reservoir emissions should also be included in guidelines for how countries report their sources of greenhouse gases. Estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from proposed dam projects should be required by regulatory agencies and funders as part of the project approval process, as recommended by the World Commission on Dams.