This year China began constructing what it says will be the world’s largest hydropower dam.
The Motuo Hydropower Station is located in The Himalayan plateau – often described as the world’s “third pole”. It stores immense quantities of ice and snow that feed hundreds of rivers downstream in countries like India and Pakistan.
The mega project will generate about as much electricity each year as the entire UK’s annual use.
Beijing argues the project will boost development and protect ecosystems. But worry that placing such a powerful piece of infrastructure upstream gives China unprecedented leverage.
Climate change compounds these risks. New data from the Pacific Institute shows a sharp rise in water-related conflict worldwide, with South Asia among the most vulnerable regions.
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