A post-Covid-19 recovery based on building more wind farms in five developing countries could unlock 2.2 million jobs.

A new report by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), which focuses on five countries, Brazil, India, Mexico, the Philippines and South Africa suggests these countries could benefit from millions of new jobs with nearly 20GW of additional wind power installations.

These future wind projects are forecast to save over their lifetime the equivalent of 714 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

The authors of the report recommended that larger investment in the expansion of grid and transmission infrastructure and a more simplified structure for permits for renewables could deliver environmental and socioeconomic opportunities for these five countries

Ben Backwell, Chief Executive Officer of GWEC, said: “The time for action is now and governments need to use forums such as the G20 to turn promises, targets and ambitions into decisive interventions that provide the foundations for local communities and the private sector to make the energy transition a reality.”