Decarbonisation has long been the watchword in the fight against climate change. The debate has now moved from "how should it be done?" to "how quickly should it be done?", because despite every effort, the global economy still runs largely on fossil fuels. We therefore remain a long way from carbon neutrality, which requires minimising fossil-fuel use to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The encouraging development is that the clean-energy transition is accelerating in two principal areas. The first is the race to expand renewable-energy generation. The second is electrification: replacing equipment, devices and systems powered by fossil fuels with solutions powered by electricity from renewable sources, so that final energy use is increasingly met by electricity.
Renewable-energy generation is at an earlier stage and growing rapidly. Electrification, though further advanced, is growing more slowly. Yet electrification should now play the more decisive role, because without it, clean electricity cannot replace fossil fuels at the point of final use.
In the context of sustainability initiatives, electrification technologies use electricity generated from solar, wind and other clean renewable sources. They have become a critical catalyst for decarbonisation and a central element in combating climate change.
Global Electrification Target Presented
Electrification is undeniably one of the principal drivers of an energy transition aligned with the 1.5°C target. Accelerating it across organisations, transport, buildings and industry is fundamental to that transition. Türkiye, which is preparing to host the UN Climate Change Conference, COP31, in November, has therefore proposed a new global target to accelerate electrification worldwide.
COP31 President Murat Kurum announced a target to increase electricity's share of final energy demand from just over 20% today to 35% by 2035.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) emphasises that electricity's share of final energy consumption must rise to 35% by 2035 and exceed 50% by 2050. Achieving these targets will require a substantial acceleration of electrification in transport, heating and industry.
The European Union has also taken a tangible step, establishing an important indicator for electricity's share of final energy consumption and setting an electrification target of 32% for 2030. A plan expected to be published next month aims to accelerate electrification of energy consumption in transport, industry and buildings in a cost-effective, system-compatible manner.
Renewable Energy and Electrification Must Grow Together
More than 60% of global energy-related emissions still come from final energy use, a situation that is likely to persist unless electrification expands. Three-quarters of the world's population live in fossil-fuel-importing countries, and fossil fuels are used most heavily in transport, buildings and industry. Replacing imported fossil fuels with electricity from domestic renewable sources could therefore strengthen energy independence.
Yet the transition is still not approached holistically enough. Most national climate plans contain renewable-energy targets or strategies, but electrification is often addressed vaguely or omitted altogether. Only a small number of national plans mention electrification, and even then, it is generally framed in terms of increasing energy access.
The priorities are clear, and if the transition is managed fairly and with foresight, all the tools needed to support electrification with competitive low-carbon electricity are available. Essential steps include replacing petrol and diesel cars with electric vehicles, gas- or coal-fired heating systems in buildings with electric heat pumps, and converting certain carbon-intensive industrial operations, such as iron and steel production, from fossil fuels to electricity.
However, misconceptions about technology and trade tensions risk slowing mass electrification.
This major transformation also requires smart policy, better infrastructure and continuous technological innovation. Investment in research and development, private-sector innovation and support for moving new technologies from the laboratory to the market are therefore extremely important. Electricity-generation and infrastructure costs must be optimised, and growth in generation capacity must keep pace with expansion in the uses of electricity.
There is no time to lose. Delays in electrification will significantly increase the cost of the energy transition and weaken the fight against climate change.
Electrification Will Mean Millions of New Jobs
Success does not require every sector to transform at the same pace, but each must transition in line with its own technological and economic conditions. From buildings and cold chains to transport and industry, electrification not only cuts emissions and costs, but also creates new areas of employment.
Joint reports by IRENA and the International Labour Organization (ILO) show that faster electrification is creating millions of new jobs worldwide and that this trend will continue to grow in the coming years.
Although the energy transition will cause some job losses in fossil-fuel sectors, demand is expected to rise rapidly for electricians, engineers, software developers, data specialists and maintenance personnel in renewable energy, energy efficiency, grid modernisation and electrification. Electrification is also creating new occupations and specialisms by transforming sectors including automotive, construction, industry, software, recycling and logistics.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), electric vehicles and heat pumps, the leading technologies of electrification, are growing rapidly. The IEA projects that electric vehicles will account for approximately three-quarters of the global clean-technology market, expected to reach around USD 2-3 trillion by 2035, while heat pumps will play a key role in decarbonising buildings.
Electrification must therefore be placed at the centre not only for its environmental benefits in combating climate change, but also to create low-cost, high-performance energy systems. Change begins with how we talk about the energy transition. Expanding renewable energy can make electricity cheaper, but electrification transforms the essential technologies people use in daily life.
Countries that advance clean electricity generation and electrification together move several steps ahead. We must never treat electrification as a minor detail at the end of the transition; it is the main stage of the energy transition itself.
26 June 2026
