Global wind industry unites to address climate and energy crises ahead of COP27

The Coalition announces its aims for COP27 yesterday on Global Wind Day – a day for learning about wind power and the opportunities it holds to reshape our energy systems, decarbonise our economies and boost jobs and economic growth. 

Global carbon dioxide emissions in 2021 were the highest on record, despite the IPCC calling for peak emission by 2025 and a halving of emissions by 2030. Those numbers demonstrate the steep challenge in this decade. The focus for COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh must be on moving from targets and promises to action and implementation. In particular, the Coalition is calling for:

• Greater policy ambition and volumes made available to scale up to 390 GW of annual wind energy installations by 2030, in line with a net zero trajectory.
• Global recognition of the urgency to evolve policy frameworks and supply chain structures for the energy transition, and a “climate and energy emergency” approach to policymaking which can address climate, energy and security concerns.
• Implementation of carbon pricing which clearly recognises the societal costs of greenhouse gas emissions and pollution.
• Coalition-building between the renewables industry and climate finance community to improve the efficacy of international support schemes for the energy transition.
• Recognition of wind energy’s benefits and opportunities in the just transition, which range from large-scale job creation to revitalisation of local communities.

"The wind industry can play a vital role in creating resilient, secure, and sustainable energy systems that deliver on net zero pledges. Political decisions need to reflect the central role of wind power in the energy transition."

Ben Backwell, CEO, Global Wind Energy Council

Facing the clear and present dangers of the climate and energy crises, the wind industry is renewing its Wind. Are You In? campaign for COP27, asking governments and stakeholders to support the rapid scaling up of wind and renewable energy.  

Ben Backwell, GWEC CEO, said: “Wind can transform energy systems around the world, and it can be done right now at a competitive cost. UN Secretary General António Guterres says time is running out to keep 1.5 degrees alive. The IEA says that to keep the world on target for net zero, the wind industry needs to be installing 390 GW a year by 2030. The situation is critical and the time for action is now. 

“The situation in Ukraine has laid bare the dangers of the world’s reliance on fossil fuels. The wind industry can play a vital role in creating resilient, secure, and sustainable energy systems that deliver on net zero pledges. Political decisions need to reflect the central role of wind power in the energy transition. Leaders must fast-track and streamline approvals of wind projects, modernise grids, set Paris-aligned renewable energy targets that provide certainty to investors and developers and ensure a healthy and sustainable renewables supply chain is in place.”

Joyce Lee, Chair of the Global Wind Energy Coalition for COP27, said: “The window to meet our Paris target of a 1.5C pathway grows narrower each year. When it comes to scaling wind energy to mitigate climate change and decarbonise energy systems, governments, industry and citizens alike cannot afford to delay action and cooperation any longer. The industry currently installs around 95 GW of wind energy capacity per year worldwide, but this figure must quadruple by 2030 to meet our 1.5C and net zero targets. We are in with wind, and the Global Wind Energy Coalition for COP27 will work to ensure every government and international body is in with wind too, so that the industry can deliver clean energy for all.” 

The high stakes of the Glasgow Climate Pact have been brought into sharp focus by the climate and energy emergencies faced around the world. Policymakers are now looking to renewables to restore order and energy security.

The wind industry – led by the COP27 Coalition – is ready to work with governments to scale up wind growth while addressing current global challenges with the supply chain, commodity costs and effective policy frameworks.

Coalition Details: 

The Global Wind Energy Coalition for COP27, an initiative led by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), is a multi-stakeholder group of leading wind power companies and associations from across the globe committed to ramping up wind power capacity to limit the dangerous impacts of climate change. Members include: Vestas, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, GE Renewable Energy, Iberdrola, Ørsted, Mainstream Renewable Power, DNV, SSE Renewables, Corio Generation, Gazelle Wind Power, Lekela Power Egypt, the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), RenewableUK, WindEurope, the South Africa Wind Energy Association (SAWEA), the Electricity Sector Association of Kenya (ESAK), the Brazilian Wind Energy Association (ABEEolica), the Chinese Wind Energy Association (CWEA) and the Chinese Renewable Energy Industry Association (CREIA).

For more information on the global wind industry’s COP27 campaign, visit the campaign website here.