Wind can provide 20% of electricity by 2030

Wind could meet twelve per cent of global power demand by 2020, and up to 22 per cent by 2030, according to a study published by the Global Wind Energy Council and Greenpeace International.

The Global Wind Energy Outlook 2010 finds that wind power could play a key role in satisfying the world's increasing power demand, while at the same time achieving major greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The 1,000 GW of wind power capacity projected to be installed by 2020 would save as much as 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2 every year. These reductions would represent 50-75 per cent of the cumulative emissions reductions that industrialised countries committed to in their 2020 'Copenhagen pledges'. By 2030, a total of 34 billion tons of CO2 would be saved by 2,300 GW of wind power capacity.

Wind power can make a massive contribution to global electricity production and to decarbonising the power sector, but we need political commitment to make this happen. Wind power technology provides governments with a viable option for truly tackling the challenges of our time and for being part of the energy revolution our planet needs. In addition to its environmental benefits, wind energy is becoming a substantial factor in economic development, providing more than 600,000 'green collar' jobs today both in direct and indirect employment. By 2030, the number of jobs is projected to increase to over three million.

Steve Sawyer

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