OFFSHORE WIND

Enabling fast, fair and responsible development in emerging markets

Offshore wind is one of the most powerful clean energy resources on the planet. Scaling it rapidly and responsibly in emerging markets can transform energy systems, cut emissions, protect ocean life and ensure coastal communities share in the benefits of the transition.

  • Offshore wind is the largest climate mitigation opportunity in the oceans, with the potential to deliver more than 7% of the emissions reductions needed to keep warming below 2°C. Majority World deployment is critical to reach this potential.

  • Philanthropy can help embed nature- and people-positive practices, strengthen governance, and unlock finance in emerging markets.

  • While private investment flows to offshore wind, little support ensures it is deployed equitably, sustainably, and in under-served geographies.

Offshore wind turbines in the ocean, with one turbine prominently in the foreground and several others in the distance.

PROBLEM

Offshore wind has the technical potential to generate many times the world’s current electricity demand, yet deployment remains heavily concentrated in a handful of early adopter countries. Emerging markets, where energy demand is rising fastest, face high upfront costs, weak policy frameworks, limited grid readiness and long development timelines.

Without intervention, these barriers risk slowing the global energy transition and locking countries into new fossil fuel infrastructure. At the same time, poorly planned projects can sideline communities, erode trust and undermine long-term support. The challenge is not whether offshore wind can scale, but how to do so in ways that are fast enough for the climate and fair enough to endure.

GRANTEES

  • OCEAN ENERGY PATHWAY

    OEP works directly with governments to establish the policy, regulatory and market frameworks needed to unlock offshore wind at scale.

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  • POOLED FUND FOR INTERNATIONAL ENERGY

    PIE supports civil society campaigns in country markets, ensuring offshore wind works for nature and communities, not against them.

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  • GLOBAL OFFSHORE WIND ALLIANCE

    GOWA mobilizes governments, international institutions and the private sector to advance large-scale offshore wind deployment.

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  • GLOBAL INITIATIVE FOR NATURE, GRIDS AND RENEWABLES

    GINGR is developing the tools, standards and best practices needed to scale renewables while protecting nature.

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Three white wind turbines against a bright blue sky.

OPPORTUNITY

ORCA’s Offshore Wind Pathways Initiative is accelerating fair and nature-positive offshore wind development in priority markets across Asia, Africa and the Americas. It brings together complementary actors working at national and global levels to remove the barriers that slow deployment and to ensure offshore wind delivers for climate, communities and conservation alike.

Taken together, the country-level efforts of Ocean Energy Pathway and the Pooled Fund for International Energy and the international-level efforts of the Global Offshore Wind Alliance and the Global Initiative for Nature, Grids, and Renewables align policy, advocacy, diplomacy and conservation to realize offshore wind’s full potential. 

  • 300 GW

    of offshore wind enabled by 2035.

  • 800 million

    tonnes of CO₂e avoided each year by 2035.

  • 5.5 million

    jobs created by 2035.

  • 80,000 km2

    of ocean and marine life protected by 2035.

Row of wind turbines in the ocean, with a partly cloudy sky above.

IMPACT GOAL

In its first three years, the initiative will put the building blocks in place for responsible offshore wind at scale: government plans in at least ten priority countries, stronger coalitions to sustain momentum and create social license, increased multilateral cooperation to accelerate global deployment, and a best-practice framework to guide nature-positive offshore wind development.

By 2035, the ambition is to enable 300 GW of offshore wind, avoiding more than 800 million tonnes of CO₂e each year, creating more than 5.5 million jobs, and safeguarding marine life across 80,000km2 of ocean.

WHAT WE FUND

  • Northern lights over snow-capped mountains and ocean, night sky with stars.

    ARCTIC CONSERVATION

    Safeguarding ecosystems and Indigenous livelihoods

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  • A man in a brown jacket and wide-brimmed hat is standing in a body of water, holding a large fish. Two boats are nearby in the water, with a backdrop of trees and a cloudy sunset sky.

    BLUE CARBON+

    Protecting and restoring mangroves, seagrass, saltmarsh and kelp

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  • Two elderly people, a man and a woman, are repairing fishing nets. The woman is wearing a purple hijab, while the man is wearing a white shirt.

    COASTAL FRONTLINE INITIATIVE

    Strengthening community resilience and securing tenure rights

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  • Aerial shot of a sandy coastline with clear green water and artisanal fishing vessels pulled up on the foreshore

    MARINE CARBON REMOVAL

    Responsible and inclusive ocean-based carbon removal

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  • A white wind turbine against a clear blue sky.

    OFFSHORE WIND

    Enabling fast, fair & responsible development in emerging markets

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  • A large cargo ship with colorful containers sailing in calm waters under a partly cloudy sky.

    DECARBONIZING SHIPPING

    Accelerating zero-emission fuels, ports and policy frameworks

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  • Two fishermen sitting on traditional round basket boats on a beach at sunset, with fishing boats anchored in the background under a cloudy sky.

    OCEAN-CLIMATE DIPLOMACY

    Embedding ocean priorities in global climate policy

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