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The president-designate of 31st Conference of the Parties (COP 31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Türkiye’s Minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, Murat Kurum, on May 20, 2026 called for a rapid acceleration in the electrification of the global economy.
He said expanding electricity use across transport, buildings and industry would be central to meeting climate goals agreed under previous UN climate summits.
The remarks assume significance as the world grapples with another oil and gas crisis linked to the United States-Israel-Iran war since February 28, 2026.
Speaking at the Copenhagen Climate Ministers’ Meeting, Kurum said the ongoing global energy crisis had reinforced the need for renewable energy expansion and diversification of national energy systems. He also highlighted the importance of electricity in the clean energy transition.
“Governments, international agencies, and the private sector are increasingly focusing on electrification as a critical frontier of the transition,” Kurum said.
“Today, around 20 per cent of final energy consumption is met by electricity. Together, we should aim to raise that number as quickly as possible.”
Final energy consumption refers to energy used directly by households, businesses and industries for heating and cooling, lighting, appliances, transport, industrial machinery and manufacturing processes.
Kurum said decarbonising electricity generation alone would not be sufficient to meet climate targets and called for broader electrification across economies.
“To achieve this mission, decarbonising power generation is essential. However, it is not enough. We also need to electrify processes throughout our lives,” he said. “We want to start a global conversation about electrification.”
According to the International Energy Agency, electricity currently accounts for around 20 per cent of global final energy consumption. Under the agency’s Net Zero Emissions by 2050 scenario, that share must rise to more than 27 per cent by 2030 and exceed 50 per cent by mid-century.
The shift is expected to be driven largely by the decarbonisation of transport through electric vehicle adoption and the growing use of electric heat pumps for buildings and industrial applications.
The remarks come as countries prepare for COP31, which Türkiye will host in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya from November 9 to 20. The summit will follow COP30 in Belém, Brazil.
An April 2026 action agenda letter by the COP31 presidency mentioned continuity with previous climate summits, noting that Türkiye “will act in continuity with the work and outputs of previous sessions… including COP30 Belém outcomes”.
The letter also highlighted the importance of the “Troika approach”, linking past, current and future presidencies (Brazil, Azerbaijan and Türkiye) to ensure stability and predictability.
Electrification has increasingly emerged as a major pillar of global decarbonisation strategies as countries seek to reduce dependence on fossil fuels while expanding renewable energy capacity, battery storage and grid infrastructure.
Analysts say the pace of electrification will determine how quickly emissions can fall across hard-to-abate sectors, including transport, buildings and manufacturing.