COP31 Seeks 2035 Global Electrification Target

COP31 President Murat Kurum is urging countries to support a voluntary target to raise electricity’s share of global final energy use to 35% by 2035, from roughly one-fifth today. The proposal is a focus of the climate conference in Antalya, where Turkey is also seeking support to include the goal in the final agreement.

At a joint press conference on November 10, Kurum described the initiative as part of a broader effort to expand electricity use in transport, buildings and industry. He said a joint declaration supporting the COP31 action agenda had also been announced. The target is voluntary; countries are being asked to endorse it, while the presidency seeks a place for it in the negotiated outcome.

The proposed expansion is intended to reduce emissions by replacing fossil-fuel-powered vehicles and equipment with electricity. But the pledge does not currently require that additional electricity come from low-carbon sources. That leaves a central question for negotiators: whether electrification alone should count toward the goal, or whether the final language will connect it to cleaner power.

The distinction matters because shifting energy use to electricity does not...