German foreign minister calls oceans a 'treasure for green energy'

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stressed the importance of offshore wind power for the energy transition on Tuesday during an offshore wind forum for European partners.

"The sea, as many of you know, is a treasure. A treasure that we all share, but also a treasure that we can use better. A treasure for green energy," she said at the Baltic Offshore Wind Forum in Berlin.

"The European Commission estimates the capacity for wind energy in the Baltic Sea at more than 93 gigawatts. That's equivalent to the output of about 90 average-sized nuclear power plants."

Guests at the wind forum included Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Olavi Haavisto.

Together with other countries in the region, Germany wants to expand offshore wind energy in the Baltic Sea in order to phase out fossil fuels, particularly Russian oil, coal and gas.

Every wind turbine built is "an investment in our security, because switching to green energy makes us less dependent on oil, coal and gas from countries that we can't always rely on," Baerbock said.

"We will only be able to implement these projects if we tackle them together.

Offshore wind power, along with onshore wind power and solar energy, are central to the expansion of green electricity in Germany.

The current coalition government has significantly increased the expansion targets for offshore wind power compared to the previous government.