COP31 Climate Conference: Will the 'Full Electrification' Bet Succeed in Cutting Emissions by 2035?

The 31st session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) kicked off on Monday in the Turkish city of Antalya, spanning two weeks in a renewed international effort to accelerate the transition to electric power to curb greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming.

Global Ambition: The '35 by 35' Target

Co-organized by Turkey and Australia, the current summit places making electricity the primary driver of the energy transition at the top of its agenda. Organizers are seeking an international consensus on an initiative known as the "35 by 35" target, which aims to raise electricity's share to cover 35% of total global final energy consumption by 2035.

A Shift Impacting Everyday Life

These negotiations are of particular significance given that fossil fuels—coal, oil, and gas, the primary drivers of human-induced emissions—still account for more than 80% of total global energy supplies.

The new drive targets the electrification of individual, collective, and industrial uses, directly impacting the daily lives of consumers. This is to be achieved by replacing fossil-fuel-reliant equipment with modern electrical appliances, such as phasing in electric vehicles to replace combustion-engine cars, swapping gas boilers and heaters for heat pumps, and replacing gas cooking stoves with electromagnetic induction cooktops—shifts already underway in many countries that present substantial regulatory and economic challenges toward achieving climate targets.