16th World Wind Energy Conference
The World Wind Energy Association and the Swedish Wind Power Association welcome the presence of those 300 participants from 39 countries attending this Conference, from wind and all other renewable energy technologies.
The Conference covered all aspects of wind utilisation, science and technology, related policies, manufacturing, development, operation, community involvement as well as other economic and social issues.
The Conference appreciates the support of the governments and governmental as well as non-governmental organisations, especially the Government of Sweden, including the Ministry of Energy, the Swedish Energy Agency, the Region of Scania, the City of Malmö, Sustainable Energy for All, the International Renewable Energy Alliance, REN21, the Global 100% Renewable Energy Platform, International Hydropower Association, International Solar Energy Society, World Bioenergy Association, our industry sponsors and exhibitors, and all organisations and individuals enhancing the Conference.
The Conference has tackled the issue of how to make wind power even more popular through direct participation of local citizens and communities and has highlighted a broad range of participatory approaches, from involvement in planning processes up to local ownership. The Conference agrees that making direct benefits available is key to substantially accelerate the switch to a renewable energy future.
Emphasis has been placed on the importance of employment opportunities in the renewable energy sector and in particular on the importance of offsetting unemployment by the creation of new opportunities for people to be employed or otherwise engaged in production of wealth such as by adding the availability of electricity for lighting for learning or power to productivity within existing activities or creation of opportunities – e.g. irrigation. Such opportunities do exist in both the developing world as well as in the developed world, and they represent a main direct benefit of renewable energy for local communities. The importance of renewable energy access to the people of the developing world was overwhelmingly acknowledged.
The Conference recognizes that Sweden is one of the most advanced countries in terms of renewable energy deployment. The conference applauds the statement by the Swedish Energy Minister that the switch to 100% renewable energy is necessary, feasible and beneficial for societies and that Sweden may reach this goal even well before the year 2045. The conference encourages the Swedish government to take the necessary steps to achieve this target ahead of time and encourages other governments to follow this example set by Sweden.
In light of the renewable energy investor concerns highlighted at this conference that many particularly community and individual investors face severe losses or bankruptcy, this conference calls upon the Swedish government to introduce a method to fulfil expectations of a sustainable return and re-establish trust and a preparedness to invest in renewable energy generation particularly through wind power.
The Conference re-confirms the significance of the Paris Accord on Climate Change as it paves the way for a 100 % renewable energy future for the world. We welcome in particular the commitments made by 48 countries of the Climate Vulnerable Forum for taking the leadership role in committing to a 100% renewable energy future. The Conference calls on national, regional and local governments to keep the commitments of the Paris agreement and to focus fully on its speedy implementation. Sweden and other countries have been demonstrating that an emission free energy supply system based only on renewable energy is possible and good for every country’s prosperity.
The Conference thanks H.E. Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, former President of Iceland, for his strong statements on the importance of a global renewable energy revolution and for underlining the need of a bottom-up strategy as outlined in the Roadmap.
The Conference thanks the makers of the film “Renewable Japan” for showing the film for the first time in Europe to an international audience. The film demonstrates in a very impressive and comprehensive way the urgent need for the switch to renewable energies and shows the practical examples as well as the practical benefits of such energy revolution.
The Conference applauds the making of the World Wind Energy Award 2017 to Dr. Franz Alt for being a renewable energy advocate and fact based journalist who has inspired millions of citizens in his public speeches and publications.
In addition the Conference supports the following objectives, policies and actions, some of them having been presented at previous WWECs:
- Remove gradually all energy subsidies and introduce the internalisation of all externalities to achieve a level playing field;
- Continue the development of appropriate investment incentives for all types of investors and include incentives for a smart renewable power supply;
- Focus on the integration of wind power into existing power systems also on the local and community level, create smart grids and enhance decentralised synergies between the various renewable energy technologies in order to achieve an integrated 100 % renewable energy supply in the foreseeable future;
- Continue the close cooperation with IRENA on the implementation of its work programme and contribute to its further refinement;
- Raise the political and social awareness on all levels of society and in particular amongst local communities and enable them to obtain access to the necessary knowledge, technologies and systems;
- Create a stronger focus on community power and distributed energy supply within the existing governmental, international, education, research and financial institutions;
- Reduce overall costs for energy supply by increasing the share of renewable energy power and by a stronger focus on least-cost decentralised options for 100 % renewable energy;
- Develop and expand national, regional and international financing mechanisms for renewable energy;
- Support communities especially in developing countries in obtaining easier access to technology and finance;
- Recognise the importance of the concentration on the role of science and technology in achieving rapid development of renewable energy both past and ongoing.
- Encourage all wind energy stakeholders to participate in the next World Wind Energy Conference to be held in Karachi, Pakistan, in April 2018.
