Get the wind behind you at Copenhagen - by Julian Scola
Governments meeting at the climate summit in Copenhagen are being willed by the world to seal a deal in which nations commit to cutting their carbon emissions by 25-40% by 2020. Scientists warn it’s the only way to keep global warming below the critical 2°C limit. Wind industry representatives from Europe, the US, India and China, will be in Copenhagen en masse to urge world leaders and climate negotiators to achieve that far-reaching agreement. We share the world’s hopes for a deal, but suffer a special frustration: we know that wind energy provides a ready-made solution to climate change. We have the technology, working already, to provide a key alternative to polluting fossil fuels.
Wind’s credentials are borne out by the facts: by the end of 2008, wind power avoided the emission of 91 million tonnes of CO2 per year – equivalent to 20% of Europe’s Kyoto greenhouse gas reduction target. Wind power makes economic sense too. Wind turbines consume no fuel and have low operating costs. Boosting wind power means that more expensive and polluting fuels like oil, gas and coal, are pushed out of the market. It’s a trend that is already happening: last year, more new wind energy capacity was installed in Europe than any other power generating technology including coal, gas and nuclear. European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) predicts that by 2020 wind power will avoid a massive 333 Mt of carbon emissions annually. Wind is already cutting emissions and can increasingly do so in the future. It can pave the way – with other renewable energy sources - to a low-carbon future and a healthy planet.
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