Governments need to address energy security and climate crises

A global coalition of 108 leading wind energy companies and associations, representing 81% of installed wind energy worldwide, has challenged governments to take dramatic action to scale up wind and renewable energy in this decade.

Suppose the world is on track for a 1.5°C-compliant pathway to net zero. In that case, annual global wind energy installations must quadruple by 2030 to around 390 GW per year, according to the International Energy Agency. By 2050, wind energy must generate more than one-third of global electricity, up from 6% today.

But governments must take urgent action to realise this goal and unleash the full potential of wind technology to provide secure, affordable, clean energy for communities worldwide.

The Global Wind Energy Manifesto for COP27 warns that while wind energy is one of the most competitive, mature and quickly deployable energy technologies we have today, it needs large, steady and visible volumes for deployment and a robust global supply chain.

Governments can only achieve this through clear and practical actions set out in the manifesto, including:

• Urgently streamline planning and permitting schemes for grid-scale renewables projects;
• Rapidly build out vital grid infrastructure for integration of clean energy and cross-sector decarbonisation;
• To evolve power markets to incentivise renewable generation investment and allow citizens to benefit from the affordable, secure generation provided.

The wind industry stands ready to work together to achieve the required rapid scale-up of wind installations this decade. 

Signatories of the manifesto include the largest companies in the sector, such as Iberdrola, Ørsted, EDP Renewables, Vestas, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, as well as the wind industry associations in China, Brazil, South Africa, Europe, the UK, Australia and more.

The wind industry is already delivering significant growth and benefits to the global energy system on security, cost and climate. In 2021 94 GW of wind energy capacity was added globally, producing around 275 TWh of electricity per year – more than the current annual electricity demand in Australia and enough to displace over one-third of the EU’s imports of Russian gas before the invasion.

But decisions at COP27 and in the next few years will determine whether the world can leverage wind and renewable energy to get on track for net zero and secure a livable, just and equitable energy transition.