Press Release

12 Reasons to Exclude Large Hydro from Renewables Initiatives
Report Launch: Lecce Room, Fiera Milano
11am Wednesday, 10 December 2003

Contact: Patrick McCully, International Rivers Network +1 510
2133 1441 (mobile in Milan)
Antonio Tricarico, Campaign to Reform the World Bank +39 328
8485448 (mobile in Milan)

(Milan) A new report co-published by 13 organizations* working on
climate change, development, sustainable energy and water management
gives a dozen reasons why large hydro should be excluded from global
efforts to promote renewable energy.

The report cites the negative impacts of large hydro** on people,
ecosystems, energy security, and efforts to adjust to climate change.
These provide compelling evidence that a major expansion of large
hydro would hinder efforts to eradicate poverty and reduce the
environmental impacts of energy production.

"Large hydro does not have the poverty reduction benefits of
decentralized new renewables, like wind, solar and biogas, and it
will increase our vulnerability to climate change. It must be stopped
from capturing subsidies aimed at promoting environmentally friendly
and socially appropriate technologies," says Patrick McCully,
Campaigns Director of the California-based International Rivers
Network, coordinator of the report.

The rate of large dam construction has fallen sharply in recent
decades, due in particular to the technology's poor economic
viability, and public opposition. The dam industry now sees the Kyoto
Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism and new government initiatives
to promote renewables as a solution to their problems.

"The World Bank and the dam industry are calling for large hydro to
get a carte blanche to benefit from renewables funds. If they
succeed, new renewable technologies would get little more than crumbs
from these initiatives," says Antonio Tricarico of Reform the World
Bank Campaign, Italy.

The paper is being presented at an NGO press conference at the 9th
Conference of Parties to the UN Climate Convention in Milan, in the
Lecce Room, 11am, 10 December 2003.

-Ends-

* The report, Twelve Reasons to Exclude Large Hydro from Renewables
Initiatives, is co-published by International Rivers Network; Friends
of the Earth International; CDM Watch; CEE Bankwatch Network;
Intermediate Technology Development Group; Campaign to Reform the
World Bank (Italy); Oxfam America; European Rivers Network; Rivers
Watch East & SE Asia; South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People;
Network for Advocacy on Water Issues in Southern Africa; Energy
Working Group of the Brazilian Forum of NGOs and Social Movements for
the Environment and Development. The report is available at
http://www.irn.org/programs/greenhouse/.

** Large hydro is defined as hydro with an installed capacity greater
than 10 MW. The report recognizes the potential benefits of small
hydro schemes, conditional upon them meeting the recommendations of
the World Commission on Dams (WCD).

*** Citizens United for Renewable Energy and Sustainability (CURES)
states that: "New renewable sources include modern biomass,
WCD-compliant small (up to 10 MW) hydro (mechanical as well as
electric), geothermal, wind, all solar, tidal, wave and other marine
energy." (see http://www.ee-netz.de/cures.html).