World installs 6.1GW of Offshore Wind in 2020, led by China

However, this is only 11 per cent of the capacity required to meet net zero targets by 2050, and the world has so far installed only 2 per cent of the offshore wind capacity that will be needed by the middle of this century to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

The Global Offshore Wind Report 2021 finds that wind has the biggest growth potential of any renewable energy technology. Currently 35 GW of capacity is installed globally, helping the world avoid 62.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions – the equivalent of taking 20 million cars off the road – while providing 700,000 jobs across the planet. This is though only 0.5% of global installed electricity capacity.

The Global Offshore Wind Report highlights that the policy environment needs to improve rapidly for offshore wind to reach international net zero targets.

While some countries across the world have already put in place comprehensive offshore wind targets and strategies, the report finds that all together these targets across the world only account for 560 GW. Based on scenarios published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the world needs 2,000 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2050 to have a chance of keeping global temperature rises under 1.5°C pre-industrial levels.

The report highlights that delivering on offshore wind’s potential to achieve a Net Zero world calls for a step change in political action, in order to streamline planning and permitting regimes and reduce red tape, create robust market frameworks and overhaul power grids and other infrastructure.