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Decolonizing Decarbonization - A Case Study on Dams in Kenya The use of renewable energy sources over non-renewable energy sources, such as coal, have many advantages. Renewable energy resources are defined as resources that are constantly replenished and will never run out, such as solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, hydrogen, hydropower, and ocean tides. Renewable energy sources differ from non-renewable energy sources, such as fossil fuels, which are finite resources that will not only run out eventually, but can be damaging to the environment when extracted. However, despite all these benefits, we need to be careful that we do not further colonize people when taking advantage of these sources. Just like all things in life, renewable sources of energy come with their own "pros" and "cons." Some renewable sources of energy require land in order to be developed, and in some cases, this land belongs to communities who end up being overtaken or displaced in the process of acquiring energy. Gibe III dam Turkana, Kenya One example includes hydroelectric dams. The Gibe III dam was supposed to increase the amount of energy available to Ethiopians. The Gibe III dam is a $1.8 billion dollar hydroelectric dam that is 243 metres high. Once fully commissioned, it will be the third largest hydroelectric dam in Africa with a power output of 6,500 gigawatt hours/year. Although the dam was built by the Ethiopian government on an Ethiopian lake, it has negatively affected the Ngiturkan or Turkana people of Kenya. Many local and international environmental groups have criticized the project's environmental and social impact assessment as insufficient. The UN's World Heritage Committee has called on the Ethiopian government to "immediately halt all construction" on the project due to several sites that have universal cultural and ecological value. The trouble with the Gibe III dam is that the Omo River is the main source of water for Lake Turkana. Lake Turkana is in the Kenyan Rift Valley in northern Kenya, with its far northern end crossing into Ethiopia. Lake dimensions have always been variable, but in recent years Lake Turkana levels have dropped by as much as 10 metres due to the effects of the Gibe III dam on the lake's water source. Tensions regarding the disappearing lake lead to many problems, such as violence between communities living on opposite sides of the lake, food insecurity for the Turkana people, and the loss of tourism in the area because of reduced lake biodiversity. The government of Kenya previously passed a resolution in August 2011 to halt the dam, but since then have urged communities to start fishing in other lakes and/or to move away. After examining this case, we argue that governments should fully assess who will gain and who will lose when implementing renewable energy projects. Politicians should ask themselves whether they are solving one problem by creating another one. 8

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