Planning with emission models to reduce the carbon footprint of the new reservoirs

Planning with emission models to reduce the carbon footprint of the new reservoirs | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Planning with emission models to reduce the carbon footprint of the new reservoirs Tomasz Janus, Christopher Barry, Shelly Win, Jaise Kuriakose This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5046181/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract Reservoirs collectively contribute 1-2% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, although individual emissions can vary widely. While emission models have considerably advanced our understanding of the lifetime carbon impacts of reservoirs globally and offer means to inform judicious planning, their widespread adoption is hindered by high manual processing requirements, uncertainties, and linkages to geospatial drivers that can be obscure for planners. Meanwhile, simpler Tier 1 methods fail to capture variability across individual reservoirs and can overestimate national emissions by 50% compared to model-based estimates. In this study, an automated framework for reservoir emission assessment and planning is used to address some of these limitations. By applying a spatially explicit emission model enhanced with human-focused explanations to strategic hydropower expansion planning in Myanmar, we demonstrate how emission models can be used to inform low carbon reservoir planning at a national scale. Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Climate change/Climate-change mitigation Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences/Environmental impact Physical sciences/Energy science and technology/Renewable energy/Hydroelectricity climate decision-making greenhouse gas emissions policy planning transparency Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files supplementarydataresearchsquare.pdf Supplementary Materials - Planning with emission models to reduce the carbon footprint of the new reservoirs Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5046181","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":352864861,"identity":"307741e5-3264-4107-92b5-c497b905b6ea","order_by":0,"name":"Tomasz Janus","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABK0lEQVRIie2Rz0rDQBCHJywkl4VeNwTSV0gpBIpaX2VDIKdEDwUpKFgo2IMtXgN9iUBgzwmB9rK9b6GI4AtEckmhiI1/sJBVehTMd5jD7Hz8ZliAhoY/DHqveVXIQVsZ1UfxoaKEX0pyhPLh4WOUc+3eeSl3oLXm025x5vcvWvNxVuTDR2hNElUPJSl4FRsYAyIbbhsBcwdks/BIwgdAOFX1SKKQIDL2uyAQvo0ChpyI+DakdxRAgKo/SZV4W1qA2sLvFj12u1cuizx9pdD+WWEEU0CW8C1DYVmVAiQdUbAqRbYYX7ETnBDUEd6VPmNLJxSeTfiC4g53xj3J+dpkFq/L3alrCjfOt+zaeQjd53x4Q01zmaXraV35hLj1fPmvfNP/7bGhoaHhn/MG4AtmBZHdKrIAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"University of Manchester","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tomasz","middleName":"","lastName":"Janus","suffix":""},{"id":352864862,"identity":"fe07eae9-dae9-475d-bdcc-6b0634854f6a","order_by":1,"name":"Christopher Barry","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1844-848X","institution":"UK Centre for Ecology \u0026 Hydrology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Christopher","middleName":"","lastName":"Barry","suffix":""},{"id":352864863,"identity":"72ae35a1-8e9f-47b1-a99a-c9d919533a7f","order_by":2,"name":"Shelly Win","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"International Water Management Institute (IWMI)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shelly","middleName":"","lastName":"Win","suffix":""},{"id":352864864,"identity":"a080f31a-1f27-4319-bb06-6af26c2cb0cc","order_by":3,"name":"Jaise Kuriakose","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Manchester","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jaise","middleName":"","lastName":"Kuriakose","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-09-06 21:21:14","currentVersionCode":2,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5046181/v2","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5046181/v2","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":81145123,"identity":"ccf68095-9a83-409b-b527-16f236452ce2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-22 17:51:22","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":7967677,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"mainresearchsquare.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5046181/v2_covered_ae72f198-5c85-431d-bca4-3c6411c86d4a.pdf"},{"id":81144262,"identity":"4adbabab-4f89-43b9-bf38-7ec7525f30d2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-22 17:35:11","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":5034251,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSupplementary Materials - 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