Delegates gathering for the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, are debating a voluntary target that would lift electricity to 35% of the world's final energy use by 2035. The figure draws on analysis from the International Energy Agency and the International Renewable Energy Agency, and it is framed as a key step toward the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement.
Electricity currently accounts for about 23.4% of final energy consumption, a rise of 6.7 percentage points since 2000. Reaching 35% would require electrification to run at roughly four times the pace seen in the 2000s and about three times the rate recorded between 2020 and 2025. Transport has lagged behind buildings and industry in making that shift, even though electric vehicles and heat pumps are often the cheapest options available today.
Renewable sources supplied about 32% of global electricity in 2024, up from 18% in 2000. Installed renewable capacity grew from 0.8 terawatts in 2000 to 5.2 terawatts in 2025, still short of the 11 terawatts by 2030 that countries agreed to pursue at COP28. Because the target counts electricity from any source, coal and gas could continue to supply a large share of power, a point that concerns some climate advocates.
Experts describe electrification, renewable energy and efficiency as the three pillars of the energy transition, and they warn that electrification alone will not be enough. The International Renewable Energy Agency has said the speed of action matters as much as the scale of the goal. A Lancet Countdown assessment found that countries' preparedness for the transition slipped from 0.48 to 0.38 between 2024 and 2025.
The political backdrop is uneven. The United States has withdrawn from the international climate framework and is absent from the COP31 talks, while the United Kingdom's support for the target has been questioned amid reports that it is weakening electric vehicle goals. A UN Emissions Gap report concluded that keeping warming to 1.5°C is now out of reach, though 2°C remains possible if emissions are cut sharply.