The wind industry is rapidly expanding, that much you probably already know. But did you know that it is expanding so fast that both the European Wind Energy Association and the European Commission have consistently underestimated the future wind power capacity they expect to be installed?
Going back to 1997, when the European Commission first talked about targets for renewable energy, a Commission White Paper set a non-binding goal of 40 GW of wind power by 2010. This target was exceeded by more than double: by the end of 2010 there were 84.3 GW of wind power in Europe. Impressively, the 40 GW target was reached five years early.
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On Tuesday the European Parliament voted against a 30% greenhouse gas cutting target by 2020 – a disappointing move that could, at its worst, damage European leadership in climate-fighting technologies.
While the vote did not have any actual legislative influence, it does send a negative signal to the EU decision-making world.
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One of the most interesting news items in the past week was a report that energy-challenged China is planning to rapidly boost its offshore wind sector to 30 GW by 2020.
According to the nation’s National Energy Administration, China will increase its offshore wind power installed capacity to 5 GW in the next five years and create a complete technology and industrial chain to service the growing sector.
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45% by 2030 is a new initiative to achieve a 45% binding target for renewable energy in the EU by 2030 – the only way that we will avoid the most serious effects of climate change in the not-too-distant future.
Europe’s energy system must undergo radical change. This is the key to fulfilling the European Union’s committment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95% by 2050 in order to avoid the most serious effects of climate change, for the well-being of our socities.
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Young people across Europe are demanding that EU leaders raise their ambitions on climate change: the EU’s carbon reduction target should be a more ambitious 30% and not the current target of 20%. This is stated in a letter received today by Environment Ministers in all 27 Member States and co-signed by 21 European organisations.
The campaign, called ‘Push Europe’, centres on young people looking for careers in the low carbon economy of the future. It follows a declaration coordinated by WWF and signed by 72 businesses including household names like Coca-Cola, ASDA, IKEA and Google, also calling for a 30% reduction target.
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