Will building wind turbines help prevent global warming?
Yes! Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most important of the greenhouse gases which are changing our climate. In the UK we currently emit 560 million tonnes of CO2 every year. If we are to avoid dangerous levels of climate change we must cut our CO2 emissions by 80-90 per cent by 2050. That means switching to forms of energy generation that do not produce CO2.
Wind power is a clean, renewable form of energy, which during operation produces no carbon dioxide. While some emissions of these gases will take place during the design, manufacture, transport and erection of wind turbines, enough electricity is generated from a wind farm within a few months to totally compensate for these emissions. When wind farms are dismantled (usually after 20-25 years of operation) they leave no legacy of pollution for future generation.
Given the scale of the CO2 cuts needed, wind power - as the cheapest, most developed renewable energy technology, and the fastest to build - is the best placed renewable technology to deliver carbon cuts on a large scale, quickly.
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