Establishing global partnership between WWF and Orsted

The WWF and Ørsted have established a global partnership that will enable action to protect the climate and biodiversity of oceans.

In the article

This pioneering cooperation between WWF and Ørsted is intended to accelerate the implementation of offshore wind energy solutions that will increase ocean biodiversity and help achieve global climate and biodiversity targets.

Climate change leads to an acceleration of biodiversity loss, as key ecosystems and fauna and flora suffer significantly from rising global temperatures. The oceans are already playing a significant role in mitigating climate change, but they are not in perfect condition, which means that their ability to mitigate climate change is at risk. Energy transformation is needed to address these interlinked crises.

WWF as the world leader in nature conservation and Ørsted as the world's most sustainable energy company announced on Wednesday the launch of a five-year global partnership to develop fundamental changes to the approach to combating climate change and protecting biodiversity.

Organisations will work together to develop offshore wind energy to achieve a net positive impact on biodiversity. Ørsted and WWF will jointly define, develop and promote initiatives and approaches to the implementation of offshore wind energy solutions that are not only safe for nature but also enhance biodiversity.

Integrated approach

Over this decade, the global productivity of installed wind farms is expected to increase sevenfold. This is great news for the climate and for nature, because this will replace environmentally harmful fossil fuels. Climate and environmental crises are closely linked. However, these issues are often dealt with separately, without taking into account impact or synergies.

The planned development of offshore wind energy may have a negative impact on biodiversity if it is carried out improperly. However, if it is done well, it can support and enhance ocean biodiversity and create a positive impact on biodiversity. This is why the partnership of Ørsted and WWF is so important for the development of offshore wind energy with a positive net impact on the ocean. It is ambitious, but absolutely necessary.
General Manager of WWF International, Marco Lambertini

Governments are speeding up offshore wind energy to become independent of fossil fuels and to be able to provide sustainable energy in the world. If offshore wind projects are properly implemented, they can increase ocean biodiversity and improve ocean status. This will eliminate both the climate crisis and biodiversity. Together, tackling climate change and biodiversity loss allows for a much-needed change in the way governments, NGOs and businesses work to address these interlinked crises. Solutions must complement each other and not harm each other.
Group president and CEO Ørsted, Mads Nipper

For this to happen, partnership cooperation will have the following results:

innovation and testing of real initiatives that generally improve ocean biodiversity and can be used as additional means to achieve a net positive impact on biodiversity;
develop recommendations with scientific bases to allow governments to take into account ocean biodiversity requirements in the development of offshore wind energy;
An association of those who benefit from the benefits of the ocean and those who want to protect them and pursue the common goal of creating a decarbonised energy system that does not disturb the possibilities of protecting and regenerating water.

Need for new solutions

One of the key challenges is how to combine increased biodiversity with the development of offshore wind energy. A new and innovative ecosystem-based approach to maritime spatial planning is needed, which takes into account an integrated approach to achieving climate protection and biodiversity objectives. Partnership cooperation will aim to speed up the international debate and cooperation necessary for this fundamental global change.

To start, Ørsted and WWF will invite leading experts to discuss the best way for the future at a joint event on COP27. One of the ambitious objectives of partnership cooperation will be the need to include in the tender specifications the protection and restoration of nature by governments around the world.

Ocean biodiversity restoration models and best practice models

Partnership cooperation will start with a joint project to rebuild the marine ecosystem in the North Sea, supported by leading scientists in this field. It will develop new methods and technologies beneficial to the ocean ecosystem. This work will be closely monitored and documented, which will help to improve the best approach to increasing the scale of activities and delivering offshore wind energy with a positive net impact on biodiversity in waters.

This first recovery project is intended to improve the method of restoring the populations of highly depleted species responsible for building reefs to an appropriate level in the North Sea, especially as regards native oysters (Ostrea edulis) and horse molluscs (Modiolus modiolus). These species are considered to be important ecosystem builders, as their biological reefs represent an important habitat for many other marine species.

The five-year partnership solutions will support both Ørsted' biodiversity ambitions by 2030., as well as a clear call for the WWF to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030

This global partnership was initiated by Ørsted and WWF-Denmark. Over the last 15 years Ørsted has evolved from an energy company using fossil fuels to a global leader in renewable energy. The company is on track to achieve carbon neutrality in terms of generation and operation by 2025 and thus reduce greenhouse gas intensity by at least 98% compared to 2006. In 2021, Ørsted became the world's first energy company – and one of only seven companies on a global scale – which set itself the goal of achieving zero net emissions throughout the value chain by 2040. This objective was approved under the Science Based Targets initiative.

Aby mieć pewność, że jej instalacje energii odnawialnej poprawią kondycję oceanów, Ørsted postawiła sobie za cel osiągnięcie pozytywnego wpływu netto na różnorodność biologiczną we wszystkich nowych zlecanych przez siebie projektach energetycznych do 2030 r. Stanowi to uzupełnienie wieloletnich wysiłków na rzecz zminimalizowania znanych skutków, w tym związanych z instalacją, poprawą projektów i trwałością materiałów. Na przykład wdrożenie systemów monitorowania, które mają chronić zagrożone gatunki, takie jak walenie północnoatlantyckie.

Facts on the net positive impact on biodiversity

Pozytywny wpływ różnorodności biologicznej netto oznacza wymierne zmiany, które minimalizują i łagodzą nieuniknione skutki. Aby uzyskać taki wpływ, podejmuje się aktywne działania zwiększania różnorodności biologicznej i przywracania ekosystemów obecnie zagrożonych ze względu na nakładające się ze sobą kryzysy: klimatyczny i różnorodności biologicznej.

Source: Orsted