Category: <span>Essential Publications</span>

International Energy Agency: “Hydropower is particularly sensitive to the cost of capital”

Hydropower issues in the IEA report on “Reducing Cost of Capital” The International Energy Agency issued an interesting report on reducing the cost of capital for “clean energy”, including hydropower. The Rivers without Boundaries considers it a timely publication in the era of rising interest rates, and is happy to …

Hydropower stepped down as the global renewable power champion

A year earlier than it was previously forecasted to happen the installed capacity of solar power plants reached 37% of all global renewable energy, which left hydropower behind with 33%. Renewable Capacity Statistics 2024 released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) shows that 2023 set a new record in …

Notes on the Renewable Energy and Sustainability Report. REN21. January 2024

The REN21, which presents itself as “the only global renewable energy community that brings together actors from science, academia, governments, NGOs and industry to collectively drive the rapid, fair transition to renewables”, presented a report on sustainability of renewable energy sources.The Renewable Energy and Sustainability Report (RESR) is built on …

Civil Society Calls on Bankers to Take Global Biodiversity Framework Seriously

As exemplified by the continuing extermination of river ecosystems supported by multilateral banks, most international finance institutions are yet to understand that the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) is awake-up call for the whole concept of “international development assistance” and international investments in general. The RwB Coalition supported an important appeal …

Protecting Free Flowing Rivers – briefing for banks how to avoid harm

“Free flowing river” is an intuitively clear and appealing concept, but if we want its protection to be embedded into policies and regulations there is a need for formalized definition and identification algorithms. Our first attempt is directed at development banks, which often support destructive infrastructure projects negatively affecting wild …

Asian Development Bank Downplays Risks of Large Hydropower

Today, celebrating the Day of Action for Rivers, dozens of civil society groups published their critique of the Draft Guidance Note on Large Hydropower which was disclosed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a short “consultation period”. The ADB may establish a dangerous precedent issuing Guidance, that instructs its …