Lima, 11 December 2014

Price up carbon and make solid pledges on renewables in early 2015, says wind industry
Governments must put a price on carbon emissions and make pledges early next year to move away from fossil fuels
and increase the share of renewable energy into the global power mix, according to a signed statement from wind
industry players.
Wind energy associations, including those from emerging markets such as Brazil, China, South Africa, India and
Mexico have joined the call on governments to outline carbon pricing schemes and national action plans that will
attract investors into the renewable energy market.
The declaration marks the beginning of the SolutionWind campaign, which is backed by the European Wind Energy
Association and is set to be launched at the COP20 negotiations in Lima before ending in Paris next year.
Jol Meggelaars, political affairs advisor at the European Wind Energy Association, outlined what is needed on the
road to Paris in 2015. He said: If we are going to move away from the allure of fossil fuels and into a new era of
renewable and wind energy, we need every country to put a price on carbon and set clear strategies that will win
over investors in the long-run. As the IPCC has shown, the quicker we act on this transition, the cheaper it will be.
Meggelaars added: We also need to encourage those countries in the developing world to move straight to wind
energy as the solution to electricity access and to bypass the high-polluting industrial epoch that characterised the
last century. That will spur economic growth in remote areas and increase the standard of living for millions of people
who are yet to switch their lights on.
According to the World Bank, 20% of the worlds population is still without access to electricity. The SolutionWind
campaign aims to show industrialised and developing nations that wind energy is already the lowest-cost form of
new electricity generation in many areas of the world due to significant advances in cost reduction.
In some European countries such as Denmark, Spain and Portugal, wind energy is the largest source of electricity.
According to GWECs 2014 Global Wind Energy Outlook, by 2030, wind power could supply between 17% and 19% of
global electricity demand and help save over three billion tons of CO2 emissions annually.
Steve Sawyer, secretary general of the Global Wind Energy Council, said: Wind powers scalability, speed of
deployment and plummeting costs make it the ideal choice to bring about the early emissions reductions necessary if
we are to have a chance to keep global mean temperature rise to 2C or less. A few bold countries have stated here
in Lima that we can reduce emissions to zero by mid-century. With the right leadership, we could do it before then.
Sonia Lioret, secretary general of the French Wind Energy Association, said: We are actively engaged in the COP and
are convinced that all countries, especially emerging and developing economies have an important role to play. For
this reason, having a common vision of the wind industry in all countries will show our sector as a solution fighting
against climate change.

For more information contact:

Jol Meggelaars
Political affairs advisor at the European
Wind Energy Association
Mob: +32 487 022 860
Email: joel.meggelaars@ewea.org

Sonia Lioret
CEO France Energie Eolienne
Tel : +331 42 60 07 41
Email : Sonia.lioret@fee.asso.fr

or

Signatories

Brazilian Wind Energy Association (ABEElica)

Canadian Wind Energy Association (CANWEA)
Chilean Association of Renewable Energy (ACERA)
Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association (CREIA)
Chinese Wind Energy Association (CWEA)
Clean Energy Council (Australia)
European Wind Energy Association (EWEA)
French Wind Energy Association (FEE)
Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC)
Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA)

Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA)

Japan Wind Energy Association (JWEA)
Japan Wind Power Association (JWPA)
Korean Wind Energy Industry Association (KWEIA)
Mexican Wind Power Association (AMDEE)
New Zealand Wind Energy Association (NZWEA)
South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA)
Ukrainian Wind Energy Association (UWEA)