Wind power could meet 12 per cent of worldwide electricity demand within two decades if there was enough political will to back it. This is according to Greenpeace and the European Wind Energy Association.
In a report, Wind Force 12, released at the Earth Summit preparatory session in Bali, they called on governments to stop subsidising fossil fuels and nuclear power to the tune of $250-300 billion per annum worldwide and invest instead in renewable energy.
According to Mr Christian Kjaer, of the European Wind Energy Association, the report showed that there were no technical barriers or resource limits preventing the world from enjoying the dual benefit of affordable energy and a sustainable environment.
Ms Corin Millais, of Greenpeace, said governments could not ignore the industrial potential of wind power.
He said 12 per cent of projected worldwide electricity demand in 2020 was the equivalent total amount of electricity used today in Europe.
The report was endorsed by Mr Mark Moody Stuart, former chairman of Shell and co-chair of the G8's renewable energy task force. In his foreword to Wind Force 12, he says there must be a level playing pitch so wind power could compete fairly with fossil fuels.
If the 12 per cent target was accepted, the report estimates that the wind energy industry, which has been growing at an average rate of 40 per cent annually, could create 1,475,000 jobs and produce a cumulative saving of 11,768 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Wind power worldwide already employs around 70,000 people, with an annual turnover of more than $5 billion.
Last year, 6,800 megawatts was added to its total installed capacity of 25,000 megawatts.
Ireland's installed wind power capacity was 125 megawatts by the end of last year, meeting a small fraction of our annual energy consumption.
According to the Renewable Energy Information Office, 98 per cent of Ireland's primary energy requirement comes from fossil fuels, of which 86 per cent is imported.
We are in the worst position as regards climate change and energy dependency of all EU countries.
Yet a 1995 study suggested that Ireland could generate over 13 times its total electricity needs just from offshore wind in shallow waters.
