"Get serious", support energy transition, wind sector urges governments

The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) has released its COP26 manifesto at this week's BNEF summit in London, urging governments worldwide to "get serious" about the energy transition and work together with the private sector to accelerate and scale up renewable energy installations.

With 93GW installed in 2020, wind energy is one of the world's most rapidly growing energy sources. Despite this, both the International Energy Agency and the International Renewable Energy Association have said current growth rates lag behind what is needed to reach the target of net-zero by 2050, and that to do so would require a quadrupling of annual wind energy installations within the next decade.

Led by GWEC - the wind sector's main international trade association - more than 90 wind energy players, including supply chain actors, manufacturers, industry bodies and investors, gave their backing to the calls made in the manifesto.

Read more: Coal unseats wind as Germany's primary energy source

Signatories included some of the biggest names in wind energy such as Siemens-Gamesa, Iberdrola, Vestas and Equinor.

In total, eight specific actions were outlined. These include the increased wind power ambition being reflected in long-term national energy strategies, the rapid phasing out of coal-fired power plants, and the design and implementation of future energy markets.

The manifesto also called for the streamlining of permit procedures for renewable energy projects, as well as the initiation of plans for the rapid scaling up of green energy grids and electric vehicle charging points.

It also called on governments to "develop cohesive and inclusive policies" for a people-centred shift to net-zero, as well as for the alignment of national and regional finance flows which should contain "benchmarks for a net-zero, 1.5°C-compliant pathway".

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There were also calls for the advancement of cooperation on carbon pricing under articles 6.2 and 6.4 of the Paris Climate Agreement.

GWEC said that wind power alone has helped avoid some 1.1 billion tonnes of carbon emissions each year and has created over 1.2 million jobs worldwide. Despite this, the trade association said that the sector is in urgent need of "supportive policy frameworks" if it is to accelerate growth quickly.

In a press release, GWEC CEO Ben Backwell, said: "This manifesto sets out the meaningful actions that governments need to carry out to realise the energy transition. Governments need to aim higher and deeper – updating their Nationally Determined Contributions to drive real change, cutting red tape and streamlining permitting procedures, and supporting vital investments in infrastructure.

"The recent volatility in global energy markets shows the importance of moving decisively to phase out coal and other fossil-fuel-based generation and create energy markets which are fit for purpose for a clean and sustainable future.”

Read more: EU's 2030 climate goals still require significant investments

Adding to this, Rebecca Williams, Director of COP26 at GWEC, said that the world already has the tools and technology needed to tackle the climate crisis and that what was missing was the political will.

"World leaders gathering in Glasgow next month have a chance to get serious about driving the new era of renewable energy, not stifling it," she said.

The UN's COP26 climate change conference will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, and will run from October 31 until November 12. The event is being widely touted as the most crucial moment for global efforts to tackle global warming since the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015.

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