"World’s largest hydropower project being built in Tibet" Dialogue Earth, 24 July 2025

China has broken ground on the Yarlung Zangbo River hydroelectric project on the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau.

[...] The clean power it generates has the potential to replace about 100 million tonnes of coal per year and reduce CO2 emissions by up to 300 million tonnes, according to the outlet.

The Yarlung Zangbo River becomes the Brahmaputra as it flows into India and eventually Bangladesh. These downstream countries have always had doubts about the project, raising concerns about risks to communities who rely on the river’s current flow. The dams will also be built in one of China’s most biodiverse regions, leaving conservationists concerned about loss of habitat to reservoirs.

A group of Chinese scholars published an article last year stating that the primary forests of the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon are China’s largest and most complete. Before building hydropower, a comprehensive survey of the area’s biodiversity should be carried out, they said, [...].