Global Wind Energy Council published its 2022 Report indicating that despite significant growth in wind power, at the current rates of installation the world will have less than two-thirds of the wind energy capacity required to limit warming to 1.5°C and achieve a net zero pathway by 2030.
As informed, At current rates of installation, GWEC Market Intelligence forecasts that by 2030 we will have less than two-thirds of the wind energy capacity required for a 1.5°C and net zero pathway, effectively condemning us to miss our climate goals.
The current global power crisis has revealed the continued dangers of depending on fossil fuels for our energy supply, while the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine has seen entire countries held hostage to energy supply, used once again as a tool to achieve geopolitical aims
…Ben Backwell, CEO, Global Wind Energy Council said.
Without drastic action to scale up wind energy installations, the industrial footprint of wind energy faces critical financial pressures, and we miss the opportunity to maintain and grow a productive economic sector that employs more than 1.25 million people worldwide. Finally, we will also fail to decarbonise the power, industry, transport, heating and other sectors, and significantly expand green hydrogen production
In the current environment, there is much work to do to ensure that action to implement the clean energy transition keeps pace with climate targets. Even with full implementation of all countries’ submitted Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) to 2030 under the Paris Agreement as of November 2021, the world is on-track for a 2.4°C global temperature increase.
If we factor in full achievement of longer-term net zero pledges, global warming could be limited to 2.1°C – this scenario is closer to our Paris Agreement goal, and will require unprecedented rates of renewable energy deployment and action to lower barriers to growth. Full compliance will the Paris goals will require even more decisive action.
Trust and cooperation between countries and communities will be ever more important for an effective response to climate change. If countries and
communities work against each other, the transition to clean energy will be slow and disorderly.
Wind energy’s role as a protagonist of the energy transition – a far-reaching shift in how the world produces and consumes – will depend on ensuring the industry’s growth paradigm is sustainable, just and socially responsible, while resting on a clear and viable economic proposition.
IRENA estimates that annual transition-related investment in the energy system must increase by 2.7 times in this decade, from $2.1 trillion in 2019 to $5.69 trillion each year to 2030; the IEA forecasts around $4 trillion each year to 2030 is required for clean energy investment.
As informed, the modes of trust and cooperation between countries and communities will become ever more important for an effective shared response to climate change.
According to the report, new offshore installations this year are likely to return to the 2019-2020 level, primarily due to the reduction of installations in China. Nevertheless, market growth is expected to regain momentum from 2023, eventually passing the 30 GW mark in 2026.
In total, more than 90 GW of offshore is expected to be added worldwide over the next 5 years. In 2021, the offshore wind market enjoyed its best-ever year with 21.1 GW commissioned, representing three times more than the previous year. China’s mammoth year of offshore installations accounted for 80% of the growth and saw it surpass the UK as the world’s largest offshore wind market in cumulative installations.
EXPLORE MORE AT GWEC 2022 REPORT
