Regarding the global energy transition, “the most important step we can take in this area is actually strengthening electrification,” he said at a press conference on Thursday following the two-day Copenhagen climate ministerial. “When we strengthen electrification, we will effectively ensure the transition away from fossil fuels — not just in theory, but in practice.”
His Australian counterpart Chris Bowen, who will run the formal negotiations in Antalya, told reporters that he had been “delighted with … the warm engagement on electrification.”
He added: “We’ve met in difficult times, the biggest shock to the energy system in world history. There are no easy days in this crisis, but there are clear choices … the choice of new forms of energy — reliable, sovereign forms of renewable energy.”
Neither Kurum nor Bowen offered concrete details on how they plan to integrate electrification into this year’s conference, such as whether the pair will try to push for a global agreement on an electrification target.
Should they go in this direction, the International Renewable Energy Agency, whose director Francesco La Camera also participated in the Copenhagen ministerial, offered a concrete recommendation.
The share of electricity in the overall global energy consumption must rise from around 20 percent now to 35 percent by 2035 and 50 percent by 2050 if the world wants to limit the rise in temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the lower bound of the Paris Agreement target, IRENA said in a new report presented to the Copenhagen attendees.