The world should aim to meet a third of its energy needs from electricity within a decade to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the host of the next UN climate summit has said.<\/p>\n
While about a third of global electricity generation already comes from renewable sources, other energy-intensive sectors \u2013 chiefly transport, heating and industries \u2013 have lagged behind. Close to four-fifths of final energy still comes from fossil fuels, as a result.<\/p>\n
Murat Kurum, Turkey\u2019s environment minister, who will preside over the Cop31 summit this November<\/a> with Australia, said electrifying all sectors of the economy would help shift the world to a low-carbon future. He called for a target of 35% of final energy demand to be met from electricity by 2035, up from about 20% today.<\/p>\n The Australian climate change minister, Chris Bowen, opening the conference with Kurum and the UN climate chief, Simon Stiell, said cutting fossil fuel dependence and investing in clean energy and electrification were solutions to both worsening climate-induced natural disasters and what he called \u201cthe worst energy crisis in our history\u201d.<\/p>\n Bowen told the conference the focus on electrifying the global economy had \u201cemerged with clarity\u201d in early discussions.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether it be electrifying industry in a great industrial powerhouse like Germany, or assisting African communities with the journey to clean cooking, or improving the energy security of Pacific nations by replacing diesel with solar energy, renewable energy is now the cheapest form of power available to us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The technology to electrify transport and heating is already well established, in the form of electric vehicles and heat pumps, but take-up has been patchy in places. Clean technology has fallen rapidly in price, and now looks more attractive as the world endures its second fossil fuel crisis<\/a> within five years as a result of the Iran war, which has raised oil prices to more than $100 a barrel<\/a>.<\/p>\n A technician working on a heat pump. Photograph: JulPo\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Kurum said: \u201cBy electrifying daily life, from transport to buildings and industry, we can protect families and businesses from volatile energy markets. This 35% by 2035 target will be one of the defining priorities of our Cop31<\/a> presidency.\u201d<\/p>\n Governments are meeting this week and next in Bonn, where the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is headquartered, to discuss priorities for the Cop31 conference<\/a>, which will take place this November in Antalya, Turkey.<\/p>\n Stiell told ministers and high-level officials meeting for the preparatory talks that dealing with the climate crisis was \u201cthe hardest, but most important, thing humanity has ever tried to do together\u201d. He added: \u201cIt is worth doing, because we have no choice. Every economy and population depends on it.\u201d<\/p>\n Scientists have warned of a possible \u201csuper El Ni\u00f1o\u201d<\/a> this year, a weather system that would turbo-charge temperature rises and bring heatwaves and potentially droughts and flooding to swathes of the globe. Already, deadly heatwaves<\/a> have hit Europe and Asia. Stiell said: \u201cWe\u2019re witnessing the imperative to accelerate [climate action] now, as deadly heat kills thousands in a single day.\u201d<\/p>\n The right to host this year\u2019s Cop summit was fiercely contested between Turkey and Australia<\/a>, with the unusual decision to grant a joint presidency taken last November. Australia will have charge of the formal negotiations under the Paris agreement, but the Turkish co-hosts will have a major say in running the event.<\/p>\n Experts have long called for electrification of the economy as the best route to a low-carbon world, but no targets have been set. Previous Cops have set targets of tripling renewable energy, and doubling energy efficiency<\/a>.<\/p>\n The International Energy<\/a> Agency will be asked to produce a report setting out how the 35% electrification target can be met by 2035.<\/p>\n