The Stream, April 20: Damming the Rivers

Despite international pressure to freeze the development of the controversial Xayaburi Dam on the Lower Mekong, energy-hungry Laos is determined to forge ahead with the construction of the $3.5 billion hydropower project, which is expected to generate 8 percent of Southeast Asia’s power by 2025, Reuters reports. Chinadialogue gives more background information.

Damming the Rivers
The Associated Press reports that China’s Southeast Asian neighbors are ringing alarm bells over the country’s plans to build dams on transboundary rivers originating from the Himalayan region.

In Africa, tensions are mounting over Ethiopia’s failure to inform Egypt that it is taking steps to build a massive 5,250 megawatt dam on the Nile River, according to Reuters.

Japan’s Nuclear Timeframe
Reuters is skeptical about Tokyo Electric Power Co’s plans to shut down Fukushima’s crippled nuclear reactors in six to nine months. Is the contingency plan adequate?

Germany’s CCS Plans
Der Spiegel criticizes the German government’s passing of a bill that puts breaks on the implementation of carbon capture technology. Carbon capture would help Germany transition to a low-carbon economy, but has anyone considered the water penalty?

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