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SUSTAINABLE ENERGY 077“ ANY CREDIBLE SCENARIO TO STAY BELOW 2°C REQUIRES AN EMISSIONS-FREE POWER SECTOR BY 2050 AT THE LATEST”divestment movement; and of course, the record-breaking installation levels and record low prices of both wind power and solar PV.Mother Nature is sending another kind of signal: weird weather, droughts, floods, record-breaking Arctic sea-ice retreat, and record high winter temperatures in many parts of the world. CO2 levels seem to have accelerated their rise at an alarming rate, as have methane levels, and we are now uncharted territory in terms of atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases on the planet, at least since Homo sapiens has been around.One clear implication of the Paris Agreement, which is only just beginning to sink in with governments and the electricity industry, is that any credible scenario to stay below 2°C requires an emissions-free power sector by 2050 at the latest, preferably sooner; and if the 1.5°C target is to be considered, then it would be considerably sooner. The IPCC has been tasked with producing a Special Report on the implications of the Paris Agreement targets, so we will see what they come up with. Regardless, anyone making an investment decision to build a coal fired power plant today is seriously risking having a stranded asset.So what does the Paris agreement mean for us in the wind power industry? Not a great deal in terms that can be translated into increased turbine orders and project approvals in the short term, but the medium to long term signal is very positive.Quite apart from Paris, wind power had yet another record-breaking year in 2015. After installations broke through the 50 GW for the first time in a single year in 2014, we reached yet another milestone in 2015 as annual installations topped 63 GW, a 22 per cent increase on the 2014 annual market; and not only did renewables surpass all other power sector investments, for the first time capital investments in renewables surpassed all capital investments in fossil fuels. By the end of last year, there were about 433 GW of wind power spinning around the globe, a 17 per cent increase over the previous year; and wind power supplied more new power generation than any other technology, according to the IEA.China led the way, as usual, with a record 30,753 MW of new installed capacity, breaking the previous record it had set (in 2014) for installations in a single year. China now has more than 146,000 MW of wind power installed, more than in all of the European Union; and last year it was the first country ever to invest more than US$100 billion in renewables in a single year. Also, China’s new Five Year Plan covering the period from 2016-2020 has increased its wind power target for 2020 once again, up to 250 GW. Europe had a surprisingly strong year, led by Germany’s record-setting 6 GW of installations, bolstered by more than 2,000 MW of offshore wind; and the US market had a remarkable fourth quarter, ending with an 8.6 GW market in 2015, much higher than most had expected. Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Africa also had strong years, and we saw the first commercial wind farms in Jordan, Guatemala and Serbia. Perhaps the most encouraging sign of all is the continued proliferation of new markets across Africa, Asia and Latin America, spurred by the need for competitive, clean, and indigenous energy sources to fuel development.Looking ahead, we see a period of steady growth for the next five years. Asia will continue to Photo Credit: © Puget sound energy