International Energy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol described the electrification goal led by Türkiye's COP31 Presidency as an important target, suggesting that for years, Türkiye's Mediterranean city of Antalya could be associated with this goal.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), ahead of next month's U.N. climate conference, Birol recalled the aim to secure an international commitment to raise the share of electricity in global final energy consumption to 35% by 2035, adding that many countries are already ready to join the initiative.
Also called the "35 by 35 initiative," the pledge was unveiled by COP31 President-Designate Murat Kurum in September as part of the New York Climate Week.
Birol assessed the increasingly important role of electricity in the global energy system, the electrification initiative proposed under COP31, and the main challenges facing the energy transition.
Noting that global energy demand is rising rapidly but electricity demand is growing three times faster than overall energy demand, Birol said this development signals the beginning of a new era in the global energy system.
Recalling that he had said about two years ago that the world had entered the age of electricity, Birol explained that the increase in electricity consumption had gained fresh momentum with artificial intelligence, EVs and air conditioning systems.
Moreover, emphasizing that this transformation also requires governments and energy companies to reconsider their investment decisions, Birol said electricity use would increase more rapidly in the coming years and that countries needed to take appropriate steps.
Birol said COP meetings bring together world leaders and serve as platforms for efforts to reach important decisions on global climate policies, adding that they want COP31, hosted by Türkiye, to be remembered for a concrete and lasting goal.
Stressing that the Antalya summit should not only be a successful event but also host an international declaration, Birol said he had held talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the matter.
Following these discussions, a common target to increase electricity's share of total global energy consumption was put forward, Birol said.
Future of energy: electricity
"Electricity currently accounts for 23% of total energy consumption worldwide. Raising this to 35% by 2035, in other words, increasing it from 23% to 35%, is a very important goal," he said.
"If many countries, dozens or even hundreds, sign up to this in Antalya, I believe it would be an enormous achievement and send a strong signal to global markets and investors," he added.
Also stating that turning the electrification target into a broadly supported international commitment would provide a strong direction for the future of the global energy system, Birol said: "The future of energy in the world lies in electricity. Antalya will be the place where this commitment is made and this vision is conceived. For years, everyone will associate Antalya with this goal."
Furthermore, the IEA chief said that the "35 by 35" target would accelerate countries' existing energy transition trends, adding that plans were also underway to establish an international mechanism to monitor the implementation of the commitment.
He said the governments of Türkiye and Australia are expected to task the IEA with annual monitoring and reporting, under which the agency would assess the yearly increase in electricity's share of global energy consumption and countries' progress toward the target.
"We will be given the task of reporting every year on what each country has achieved and what it has failed to achieve. We will carry out this task and inform the global public about how much progress each country has made or failed to make, as well as which countries need support," Birol said, regarding the planned mechanism.
"I hope this commitment will be signed and then implemented. Türkiye, Australia and the International Energy Agency will all follow its implementation closely," he further noted.
AI, EV role in driving demand
Explaining that the widespread use of electricity lies at the heart of the transformation in the global energy system, Birol said three new factors were particularly accelerating demand growth.
The first is artificial intelligence, Birol said, noting that the data centers required to power AI applications consume large amounts of electricity, creating an additional source of growth in global demand.
He identified electric vehicles as the second major factor, saying global sales had risen rapidly in recent years.
"Five years ago, only 5% of cars sold worldwide were electric. This year, the figure is 32%. This is also providing an additional boost to electricity demand," he suggested.
Birol identified air conditioning as the third factor, explaining that rising global temperatures had increased demand for cooling systems, further supporting electricity consumption.
Emphasizing that these three developments had become the main drivers of the age of electricity, Birol said energy infrastructure also needed to keep pace with the transformation to meet growing demand.
Power grids as biggest challenge
In addition, Birol said the most significant challenge facing the global energy sector amid rapidly growing electricity demand was not so much generating electricity as delivering it to the points where it is consumed.
Noting that building new power plants alone would not be sufficient, Birol said increases in generation capacity needed to be supported by robust transmission and distribution infrastructure.
"I believe the biggest challenge is not building power plants. We are doing that around the world, but the challenge is delivering this electricity to homes and factories through power grids," he maintained.
"There is currently a grid problem worldwide. Efforts are underway to overcome this problem. I see this as the biggest challenge," he said.