Zürcher Nachrichten - COP31 hosts unveil 'electrification' priority for climate talks

The November summit in Antalya is taking shape as the Middle East conflict roils global energy markets, exposing fossil fuel importers to price spikes and supply shortages.

The electrification target unveiled in Bonn was "a flagship initiative" of COP31 that could respond to this crisis and help insulate economies from fossil fuel price shocks, the Turkish conference organisers said in a statement.

Thousands of climate negotiators are in Bonn this week and next to draft agreements and lay the groundwork for the final decisions taken by political leaders at the summit due to start November 9.

Turkey said raising the global share of energy demand met by electricity from roughly 20 percent to 35 percent by 2035 would speed up the shift from fossil fuels to renewable power.

"By electrifying daily life, from transport to buildings and industry, we can protect families and businesses from volatile energy markets," incoming COP31 president Murat Kurum said in a statement.

The goal will not require formal agreement by the nearly 200 nations taking part in the annual talks because it is part of the voluntary program that runs alongside the binding negotiations.

This so-called "action agenda" encourages countries to join non-binding pledges and other initiatives to turn commitments made at the UN-sponsored climate talks into action on the ground.

- Clean switch -

In simple terms, electrification means replacing technologies that burn fossil fuels directly -- such as gas heating systems and diesel vehicles -- with electric alternatives.

But for electrification to drive down heat-trapping emissions and tackle climate change, the extra electricity must come primarily from renewable sources -- rather than fossil fuels.

"If you electrify and you increase coal, then what are you doing?" veteran COP observer and E3G analyst Alden Meyer told AFP in Bonn.

"You do need to both expand electrification and squeeze fossil fuels out of the electricity system at the same time."

The electrification target unveiled by Turkey did not explicitly state how that extra power should be produced.

In 2025, renewables reached 34 percent of global electricity generation, overtaking coal's 33 percent share for the first time in 100 years, according to energy think tank Ember.

Australia, which is steering the formal negotiations in a COP31 co-hosting arrangement with Turkey, said electrification could cut emissions and shore up energy security.

"I see them as different sides of the same coin. Electrification reduces the need for fossil fuels," COP31 negotiations chief Chris Bowen, who is also Australia's climate and energy minister, told AFP in an interview in Bonn on Monday.

L.Zimmermann--NZN