Having witnessed first-hand the impact of rising sea levels in the south Pacific due to climate change, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called again on Wednesday for rapid international action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In a joint statement in Auckland with leaders of Pacific island nations, Ban noted that climate change is one of the greatest threats to people living in the region.

The statement “emphasized the need for an ambitious reduction of greenhouse gas emissions sufficient to enable the survival and viability of all Pacific Small Island Developing States.” It also called for the UNFCCC COP 17 meeting in Durban, South Africa in December “to deliver a comprehensive outcome persistent with this objective.”

Wind power and other renewables can play a significant role in a new global “green economy” while also helping mitigate climate change between now and 2050, according to an exhaustive new report released on Monday.

Produced by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the 624-page report identified the energy industry as one of the key sectors that will underpin a green economy.

The report said investing 2% of global GDP into the key sectors “can kick-start a transition towards a low carbon, resource efficient Green Economy” that replaces the “existing, resource-depleting, high carbon ‘brown’ economy” by mid-century.

A recent survey revealed that renewable energy development comes second as a priority for cooperation between EU Member States after the stability of energy prices. 27% of respondents to a Eurobarometer survey chose renewables as the number one priority, with the group supporting energy price stability just fractionally bigger, at 29%.

And in response to another set of questions, twice as many Europeans thought that in the event of a supply crisis, they would be better protected by coordinated EU rather than national measures (60% against 32%).

Yet this distinction between cooperation priorities is somewhat arbitrary given that renewable energy can and does stabilise prices by providing energy at a knowable cost, unlike oil and gas which have to be imported and whose prices go up and down.

London in Victorian times and beyond was infamous for its thick smog, caused by the extensive burning of coal industrially and domestically, which cloaked the city and made its inhabitants ill. A century or so down the line, the air of Europe’s cities may not be quite so polluted, but we still appear to have a lurking appetite for coal, and a growing appetite for gas.

In 2010, Europe installed more coal power plants than it decommissioned for the second time in 12 years.[1] EWEA’s 2010 statistics show that while 1,550 MW of coal capacity was taken offline, 4,056 MW were added. Simply put, we added 2.5 GW of coal – the equivalent of about five new power plants.

At a time when the EU rightly prides itself on its leading role in international climate negotiations, its world-class renewable energy industry and forward-thinking climate and energy legislation; when more wind and other zero-carbon power capacity is installed in Europe year on year; when a majority of EU citizens are alarmed by the reality of climate change; it is worrying that we are installing more of the world’s dirtiest, most harmful fossil fuel.

The power of wind as a positive force was supported on both sides of the Atlantic on Monday with the release of a new survey conducted by a US research firm and an opinion article published in an English newspaper.

Wind power was seen as either “favourable” or “very favourable” by 75% of people who responded to a Pike Research survey. In addition, wind energy had “unfavourable” responses of only 5%.

The consumer survey, conducted by the Colorado-based firm last summer, canvassed 1,042 Americans on their attitudes and awareness of 12 energy and environmental concepts. The margin of error for the survey results is around 3% with a 95% confidence interval.