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COP29
Background
COP29 represents a pivotal moment for climate leaders to strengthen their commitments and drive meaningful action toward a more climate-resilient world. The next decade is crucial for scaling renewable energy, and a step change in wind energy growth will be one of the most impactful contributions the global community can make to secure a livable future for all.
To stay on track for a 1.5°C pathway, governments, industry, investors, and civil society must unite to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030. This ambitious goal requires scaling up wind energy installations by 3-4 times the current rate by the end of this decade. By 2030, wind power should be on track to provide one-fifth of the world’s electricity, and by 2050, it must generate one-third of global electricity. These targets will not only accelerate the transition to cleaner energy but also provide critical solutions for energy security, jobs, and economic growth.
COP29 offers the opportunity to align international policy, financial support, and technological innovation to ensure wind energy plays a central role in achieving global climate goals. By making wind energy a priority at COP29, we can create a sustainable and resilient energy future for generations to come.
5 GW OF ONSHORE WIND GENERATES
The Global Renewables Hub
At COP29, GWEC, a founding partner of the Global Renewables Alliance is partnering with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and our global members to co-host the Global Renewables Hub – a dedicated space for forward-thinking events, bilateral meetings, and impactful dialogues. Building on the momentum from COP28, where the world set the ambitious global target to triple renewable energy by 2030, this hub will drive the 3xRenewables agenda to secure ambitious, specific and actionable renewable targets in the national climate plans (NDCs). With over 200 organisations worldwide signing onto our NDC call, we’re rallying for more supporters to amplify this critical movement.
In addition to focusing on renewable energy targets, the Hub will champion the Global Grids and Storage Pledge, emphasising the necessity of developing grids and storage solutions to support accelerated energy transition efforts. GRA’s delegation at COP29 is committed to creating lasting change, not just in setting targets but in translating them into action. The Global Renewables Hub will be a central platform for events and collaborative sessions that underscore the actions required to reach 3xRenewables.
COP29 will be an unmissable opportunity to advance these targets, supporting the renewable energy revolution and a clean, secure, and just energy future.
GWEC Schedule
15:00-16:30 The Great Wind Re-Set: Getting Wind Energy Back On Track For A 1.5°C World
The slow pace of wind progress is affecting the efficacy of the tripling renewables target and endangering global progress towards Net Zero.
Wind is still growing (and still breaking new records in terms of annual installations), but its growth rate has slowed over time. Wind installations have been overtaken by solar PV and these are now running at more than five times the speed of wind – almost 600GW of PV in 2023 compared to 117GW of wind. Wind is still responsible for an almost equal amount of power generation as solar as of 2023 (because of higher capacity factors), but solar PV will soon leave wind behind in terms of power generated too on current trends. Global energy transition targets, (for instance the crucial IRENA and IEA Net Zero scenarios), depend on wind playing its role, reaching 8GW+ of capacity while providing roughly the same amount of power generated as PV in 2050. The 3X renewables pledge made by over 200 companies needs wind to reach at least 2.7TW by 2030
Currently, wind is not on track to reach 3X or Net Zero. Installations would need to grow steadily to around 380GW in order to be on track for Net Zero. (2024 is likely to be around c130GW, while 2025 will be around 145GW, according to GWEC figures).
This leaves the world (not just us in the wind industry) with a serious problem, because the energy transition needs wind energy and its higher capacity factors. If wind continues to underperform, we will need much more than the 11.3TW of renewables capacity foreseen in the tripling pledge, as a reliance on solar PV (the only short-term viable alternative to wind) will require far higher levels of renewables capacity to put the world back on to a Net Zero trajectory. This, in turn, is likely to put the tripling out of reach completely.
Speakers
- Elbia Gannoum, CEO, Abeeólica
- Abdulaziz Alobaidli , COO, Masdar
- Roger Martella, Chief Sustainability Officer, GE Vernova
- Morten Dyrholm, Group Senior Vice President, Vestas
- Kane Xu, Senior Vice President, Envision
- Rafael Mateo, CEO, Acciona
Livestream link: [coming soon]
12:00-13:00 Looking ahead to COP30 - Actions to Triple Renewables and Double Energy Efficiency by 2030
We are committed to COP29, but we need to prepare for COP30 in Belém do Pará, Brazil. The eyes of the world will be on this iconic meeting that needs to establish not only commitments, but also the concrete actions that each country is taking to reverse climate change. GWEC calls this panel to hear a little about how we can highlight Brazil’s incredible wind potential with the huge need to triple renewables.
The tripling of installed renewable power generation capacity by 2030 is a critical milestone for keeping the 1.5°C temperature goal of Paris Agreement within reach. At COP28, 133 countries pledged to triple global installed renewable power capacity and double energy efficiency improvement rate by 2030. The UAE Consensus decision at COP28 based on 1st Global Stocktake outcomes called on all Parties to the UNFCCC to contribute with efforts to triple renewable energy capacity globally and double the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030. Achieving the tripling of renewable power capacity to reach almost 11.2TW requires an average annual addition of 1,044GW between 2024 and 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate of 16.4% in total installed renewable power capacity.
According to IRENA’s latest energy statistics, the world is making progress as a new record of
473 GW of renewable power capacity was added globally in 2023. However, despite continued acceleration in renewable energy deployment, the current progress falls short of this trajectory towards 2030. The remaining years leading to 2030 are pivotal in reorienting the world towards the 1.5°C pathway. With their new NDCs, countries are expected to reflect the highest possible ambition. The NDC updates are also expected to reflect the global target of the tripling of renewable power capacity and doubling energy efficiency
Speakers
- H.E. Mr Andre Correa do Lago, Secretary for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, COP 30 Presidency, Brasil
- Mr Francesco La Camera, Director-General, IRENA
- Mr. Ben Backwell, CEO Global Wind Energy Council and GRA Chair
COP29 Snapshots
GWEC Rewind - Playback Our Events
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Meet the GWEC team leading our work at COP29
Jonathan Cole
GWEC Chair
Ben Backwell
CEO
Rebecca Williams
Deputy CEO
Wangari Muchiri
Africa Wind Power Director
Reshmi Ladwa
Head of Operations and Partnerships/ COP29 Programme Director
Alex Bath
Communications Director
Roberta Cox
Brazil Policy Director
Advocacy Director
Janice Cheong
Policy and Project Manager
Global Renewables Hub
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