Amongst thousands of delegates and lobbying organizations at COP15 the wind industry is making its presence known, promoting wind power as an economic solution to climate change that – importantly – can be deployed rapidly to meet the urgent emissions reductions needed by 2020.
The Wind Power Works campaign run by the Global Wind Energy Council, which represents hundreds of wind energy businesses around the world, has organized a programme of activities that have been well attended by negotiators, government ministers, the media, business and NGOs.
As news headlines have shown, negotiations are stalling with developing nations objecting to what they see as the industrialised nations’ reluctance to commit to legally-binding targets to replace the Kyoto Protocol. Severe logistical problems have not helped the mood, with thousands of people queueing outside the venue for hours in freezing temperatures.
But inside there is a buzz of hope for a breakthrough and officials, businesses and civil society are engaging in debate about solutions.

The Wind Power Works campaign has run a number of events.A panel debate on Sunday with the American Wind Energy Association and leading industry CEOs including Dr Ian Mays of RES Group, Ditlev Engel of Vestas, Tulsi Tante of Suzlon and Jan Blittersdorf of NRG Systems was well-attended by the media. It addressed the future of the industry and our collective commitment to climate change mitigation. See the Reuters coverage here.
The high level private dinner that followed sat the wind CEOs down with several country negotiators and government ministers including the Danish Minister for Climate Change Lykke Friis and the US Under Secretary for Energy Kristina Johnson.
Regular boat trips to Middelgrunden Offshore Wind Farm have proved extremely popular with media and delegates, including US Secretary of the Interior Salazar and US Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack. A side event on the large-scale use of renewables in the electricity sector was presented by Steve Sawyer of GWEC, Christian Kjaer of EWEA and Jens Moberg of Better Place.
And staff on the Wind Power Works exhibition booth have been kept busy answering a range of enquiries from delegates from around the world and talking the wind power talk.

The message?
That wind is already saving CO2 in over 70 countries worldwide; That in 2008 it saved 157 million tons globally, which corresponds to around 16% of the total Kyoto protocol target for Annex 1 countries for that year; That by 2012 this is predicted to rise to 42% of the Kyoto target.
And even under the most stringent targets yet to be set for the period up to 2020, wind could meet one fifth of all emissions reductions.

Last year (2008) 27 GW of wind was installed globally – as much as nuclear since 2000.
Why? Because wind is clean, indigenous, reliable and quick to install. It can meet energy security as well as climate change objectives and at the same time create jobs and boost manufacturing.
The wind industry here at the Copenhagen climate talks is calling for a tough legally-binding deal to be signed to boost investor confidence and allow wind to reach its full potential and reap all the benefits. From Thursday the world’s leaders start arriving for the final stage of negotiations. We await the outcome.

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