GOWA’s Ambitious Offshore Wind Target Can Contribute to the Tripling Renewables Target by 2030

At COP28, global leaders committed to tripling renewable power capacity by 2030, following the recommendations of IRENA’s flagship report World Energy Transitions Outlook 2023. Amongst renewable energy sources, offshore wind plays a significant role in accelerating the energy transition and achieving the tripling target. According to the report, the world must install nearly 500 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030 to meet the climate goals.

Against this background, the Global Offshore Wind Alliance (GOWA) facilitated by IRENA, that was introduced at COP27, held a Ministerial event during the COP28 entitled ‘From targets to turbines: Next Steps in offshore wind.’

Opening the event, IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera said, “The imperative to intensify our mitigation efforts has never been more pressing, and offshore wind energy stands at the forefront of this transformative journey.”

The Alliance brings together governments, the private sector, international organisations and other stakeholders to coordinate collaborative efforts that accelerate the deployment of offshore wind and position it as a crucial component towards transitioning to green energy solutions. GOWA, with now 30 members, aims to contribute at least 380 GW of the new offshore wind capacity by 2030.

This goal underscores GOWA's proactive approach in tackling the hurdles facing offshore wind deployment. The Ministerial event served as a platform to foster dialogue on policy refinement, innovative financing, and skills development in the offshore wind sector, aligning with climate objectives and catalysing finance, investments, and socio-economic benefits.

In his remarks, H.E. Eamon Ryan, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Ireland, stated that “COP28 needs to conduct a strong global stocktake in both developed and developing countries, so that a mechanism could be devised to support lowering the costs of renewable offshore wind. In result, the offshore wind deployment can support the change needed to meet the Paris Agreement.”

The event underlined the need for continued research to improve offshore wind turbines. Participants agreed that in order to accelerate offshore wind deployment in a sustainable and environmentally sensitive manner, the global players need to cooperate and work together. Going forward, cooperation must seek to leverage existing successes to enable market in the offshore wind industry while addressing current challenges and barriers.

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