... and we’ll need 7,500 offshore wind turbines

THE UK will need around 7,500 offshore wind turbines to meet a carbon emissions target of zero by 2050, the Committee on Climate Change said.

This compares with the current 1,900, including those at the Robin Rigg wind farm in the Solway Firth, pictured. It would mean wind turbines being built on up to 2 per cent of the UK coastline. They would generate 75 gigawatts of power, compared with 8GW today.

The wind turbine industry will help offset job losses of around 28,000 in the coal, oil and gas sectors by 2030, the report said. It suggests the sector will create around 27,000 jobs, although mostly in manufacture and export.

The UK will also need to increase tree cover from 12 per cent of the country to 17 per cent to draw carbon dioxide out of the air, the report said.