Ambitious hydropower plans will accelerate greenhouse gases emissions from the Hindu-Kush Himalaya region

Mingxu Li, Nianpeng He, Li Xu, Xiaoyan Kang, Changhui Peng, Qiuan Zhu, Kerou Zhang, Boming Liang, Jiankun Chen, Lingli Yu, Youbin Deng, Xuanbo Wang, Xuyang Zhang and Huai Chen

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2025, vol. 215, issue C

Abstract: Large-scale hydropower expansion in the Hindu-Kush Himalaya (HKH) can meet the increasing electricity demand and promote local economic development, but bring new environmental concerns, e.g., a rising dam-induced greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. Here, we compiled an open-access database detailing dams (n = 2739) in the HKH region, and estimated their GHG emissions. The results show that the estimated total GHG emissions from the HKH dams are approximately 22.1 Tg CO2eq. yr−1, and more than 90 % were attributed to the dams under construction or planned. Further analysis suggested that the estimated carbon intensities of HKH dams (median = 38.1 kg CO2eq. MWh−1) are often comparable with that of other renewable energy sources, while 17.4 % of the hydropower plants are still incompatible with low-carbon goal. Notwithstanding its limitations, this study provides the first estimation of reservoir GHG emissions in the HKH region and contributes to SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) by exploring sustainable energy solutions, and to SDG 13 (Climate Action) by identifying strategies to mitigate the environmental impacts of energy production.

Keywords: Hindu-Kush Himalaya; GHG emission; Hydropower plants; Existing dams; Under construction; Planned; Pareto optimal strategy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2025.115616

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