COP26 president Alok Sharma has urged offshore wind companies to help drive the global economy towards net zero - appealing to international governments to take advantage of the knowledge available.
The former Business and Energy Secretary is heading up the Ƶ’s hosting of the United Nations Climate Change Summit, and addressed delegates on the second morning of RenewableƵ’s Global Offshore Wind conference.
Mr Sharma said the developers had a key role to play in helping Britain reach the target as fast as possible, with the likes of Orsted, Equinor, RWE, Siemens Gamesa and SSE also active in a growing number of regions.
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He said: “The story of Ƶ offshore wind is a story of success; we’ve grown the largest offshore wind sector in the world, creating entirely new industrial hubs and good green jobs, which is helping us to reach net zero by 2050.
“The Ƶ is happy to share its experience with international partners and I urge governments to take up these offers and to consider how they’re going to unlock the potential of offshore wind to decarbonise their power supplies.
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“I urge all companies here to support our wider COP26 efforts by driving action across your supply chains, encouraging your suppliers to commit to net zero and working with them to reduce emissions.
“In short, use your purchasing power to drive change across the global economy, just as you’re using your inventiveness and acumen to drive the clean energy transition across the world. Together let’s make COP26 the moment when we accelerate the clean energy transition.”
Mr Sharma followed new Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Hands’ keynote on day one, hot on the heels of his appearance at Global Citizen Live in New York.
Mr Hands described offshore wind as “the lynchpin in our efforts to reach net zero,” while Renewable Ƶ chief executive Dan McGrail called for support to further build scale and, importantly, speed, reflecting on a development process that can take a decade to deliver a single farm.
Ahead of the conference it had been revealed that investment announcements had hit record levels of more than £900 million in the Ƶ, with the Humber and the North East leading the way.
