With growing populations and livelihoods, managing freshwater will be one of the major tasks for society in the foreseeable future. Infrastructure including hydropower facilities will play an increasing role in multipurpose freshwater management.

This briefing describes examples of projects in Tajikistan and Iceland, where climate resilience has been incorporated into the modernisation of existing hydropower facilities.

These case studies illustrate how organisations worldwide have considered the risks associated with a more variable and extreme climate in the modernisation of their projects. The briefing also outlines the need for the development of industry guidance on best practice in climate risk management in hydropower operations.