The UK is lagging behind other major economies on electrification of its energy system, ranking 15th\u00a0in the G20, according to analysis\u00a0from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).<\/p>\n
It comes as Prime Minister Andy Burnham is due to speak this morning at the COP31 summit in Antalya, T\u00fcrkiye, where countries are focused on a proposed new target of 35% electrification by 2035.<\/p>\n
This means countries would aim for around a third of everyday energy uses like heating or transport running on electricity rather than by burning oil or gas. ECIU\u2019s analysis of the latest (2024) data from the International Energy Agency shows South Korea has already exceeded this target, with Japan close at 34.6%.<\/p>\n
As of 2024 the UK was averaging 22.1% electrification of its industry, buildings and transportation sectors \u2013 underperforming peer economies like France (27.8%) and Australia (25.9%), as well as emerging economies such as Indonesia (25.2%) and South Africa (31%).<\/p>\n
For UK households, electrification is largely about two shifts: moving to electric vehicles (EVs) and switching from gas boilers to electric heat pumps.<\/p>\n
According to Electrify Britain\u2019s\u00a0State of Electrification\u00a0research, a home and car run on electricity \u2013 even at current electricity prices \u2013 can be up to \u00a32,600 a year cheaper, saving up to 85% of household costs.\u00a0Both EVs and heat pumps are supported by policies that have recently been cut, or where the future is in doubt.<\/p>\n
On EVs, despite October 2026 data showing one in three cars sold in the UK are now fully electric,\u00a0the UK\u2019s EV sales targets remain in question \u2013 with Ministers reportedly considering significantly watering down regulations that incentivise manufacturers to bring the best selection of affordable EV models to the UK market.<\/p>\n
Gareth Redmond-King, Head of the International Programme at ECIU said:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s no coincidence that, amid another global energy crisis triggered by Trump\u2019s war in Iran, electrification is a major focus at this year\u2019s COP. While foreign conflicts and the decisions of distant governments can send oil and gas prices soaring, the more of your economy you power with clean electricity generated at home, the less vulnerable you are to wars, price spikes and geopolitical shocks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why this target is different from the ones we are used to seeing at COPs. Electrification is not only a climate goal, it\u2019s an energy security strategy that provides a real solution to the multiple fossil fuel driven cost-of-living crises we\u2019ve experienced over the last several years, while also cutting dangerous climate-changing emissions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the UK is serious about getting households off the \u2018fossil fuel rollercoaster\u2019, it needs to get serious about electrification, especially with EVs and heat pumps \u2013 as these are the areas where families will really feel the benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n
Image from Shutterstock<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UK is lagging behind other major economies on electrification of its energy system, ranking 15th\u00a0in the G20,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":831794,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[77337,1344,59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-831793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-eciu","tag-energy","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=831793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/831793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/831794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=831793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=831793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=831793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}