Electricity could meet a third of global consumption by 2035 - Semafor

Electricity could cost-effectively meet a third of the world’s energy consumption by 2035 based on existing technologies and pre-war energy prices, putting a proposed goal to boost electrification within “striking distance,” the International Energy Agency found. High energy prices caused by the Middle East conflict could make even more of today’s energy demand economical to electrify, the Paris-based agency said in a new analysis.

Ankara wants countries to collectively agree to raise the global share of electricity in total energy use to 35% by 2035 — up from 23% today — at the COP31 climate summit Türkiye is hosting in November. The proposal, launched at the UN this week, calls for electrification to be supported by “diverse and sustainable energy sources,” but it doesn’t preclude generating electricity from coal, oil, or gas.

The IEA found that fuel-importing countries could cut their energy import bills by more than $400 billion in the decade to 2035 if they significantly sped up the electrification of their economies. Generating electricity with gas to meet the additional demand could partially offset, but not fully reverse, reductions in imports, it said.