The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) announced earlier this week that Belgium, Colombia, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the UK, and the US have become affiliates in the Global Offshore Wind Alliance (GOWA) in an effort to boost offshore wind energy installations – a necessary action for addressing climate change and energy security crises.
The coalition, founded by IRENA, Denmark, and the Global Wind Energy Council, will mobilize governments, international institutions, private corporations, and other relevant parties who will push for the expansion of offshore wind energy during the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Anadolu Agency reported.
To keep the increase in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius and achieve net zero emissions, IRENA and the International Energy Agency (IEA) predict that offshore wind capacity would need to reach over 2,000 GW in 2050, up from just over 60 GW now.
According to Francesco la Camera, Director General of IEA, offshore wind offers nations a singular chance to significantly enhance their NDCs, raise their climate ambition, and add significant amounts of new zero-carbon power generation. In addition to being more than affordable against fossil fuel generation, offshore wind has the potential to significantly increase investment and employment growth.
The organization explains that in order to meet this goal, the Global Offshore Wind Alliance will work to accelerate expansion so that, by the end of 2030, there will be a minimum of 380 GW of installed capacity worldwide.
In order to advance national, regional, and international goals and remove obstacles to the development of offshore wind in both new and current markets, countries who have joined GOWA have promised to collaborate.
