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Hydropower impacts

Trading rivers for hydropower

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Eco-sensitive river basins are facing pressure to reduce carbon emissions and rapidly grow their economies. Now, a study identifies the exploitable hydropower potential in low-carbon futures, and the risks of relying on large-scale hydropower projects to integrate variable renewable energy in a decarbonized world.

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Correspondence to Noah Kittner.

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Kittner, N. Trading rivers for hydropower. Nat Sustain 7, 104–105 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01261-y

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