Major environmental victory in Patagonia

Major environmental victory in Patagonia
By Amanda Maxwell, NRDC
Natural Resources Defense Council
Tuesday, Jun 10, 2014

Chile’s government – under the leadership of President Bachelet – made a landmark decision today when it rejected the controversial HidroAysén dam project. "The HydroAysen hydroelectric project is rejected," declared the Minister of the Environment upon announcing the decision this morning. This is a major victory for the majority of Chileans and the tens of thousands of people around the world who oppose building large, unsustainable dams in wild Patagonia – and for those who think that Chile can be a global clean energy leader by developing its remarkable potential for renewables* and energy efficiency.

Background: 2008-2014

HidroAysén first proposed to build its five large dams on the breathtaking Baker and Pascua Rivers in Patagonia in 2008. At that time, most people assumed the dams were a foregone conclusion. “It’s dams or coal,” people would say with a shrug, repeating the assumption that those were the only two reliable energy sources for Chile. Despite that, a remarkable group of people got together to form the Patagonia Defense Council, (or CDP, of which I am proud to say NRDC is a member) to fight HidroAysén. The CDP’s work has led the way for an ever-increasing number of people to join the cause –officially or not—and call for a “Patagonia sin Represas / Patagonia without Dams.”

Over the years, the HidroAysén controversy got more and more attention in Chile and internationally, especially after the dams received their environmental approval in 2011. As other energy options, such as renewable energy and energy efficiency, became recognized and cost-competitive, even more people joined the cause. Even HidroAysén’s two owners (the Chilean energy company Colbún and Endesa Chile, the Chilean subsidiary of the Italian energy giant Enel) displayed decreasing confidence in their project.

Something remarkable happened: the conversation changed from “It’s dams or coal,” to “What kind of energy future does Chile want?” and the HidroAysén debate grew into the largest environmental battle in Chile’s history.

More:
http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_66741.shtml