COP31 opens with push to electrify global energy use

The UN climate conference COP31 opened in Antalya, Turkey, on Monday with a proposal to raise electricity’s share of global energy use, Yle reports. The target is to increase it from about 20 per cent to 35 per cent by 2035.

The talks come as the world is certain to exceed the 1.5-degree warming limit set out in the Paris Agreement. The United Nations Environment Programme says it remains important to pursue the goal, and that the scale and duration of any overshoot will matter. Each tonne of carbon dioxide emissions that can still be cut is significant, it says.

Recent climate impacts are adding pressure to the negotiations. About 50,000 people died during summer heatwaves in Europe, while destructive mudslides in Nepal in August killed thousands and left people without homes, according to the article.

Electrification as an alternative route

Previous climate conferences have struggled to reach agreement on ending the use of fossil fuels. Turkey’s proposal instead focuses on electrification, which can include switching from combustion-engine cars to electric vehicles and expanding solar and wind power.

Janne Peljo, a leading expert at the Confederation of Finnish Industries, said the proposal could reduce global emissions by about seven gigatonnes, equivalent to 14 to 20 per cent of current emissions. That would depend on clean electricity replacing more polluting energy sources such as coal and oil, rather than simply adding to them.

Peljo said the 35 per cent target would be ambitious but achievable, and that electrification is among the most cost-effective ways to curb emissions. Many countries have already expressed support for the proposal. Its significance will depend on whether it is included in the conference’s final conclusions.

The United States’ absence is expected to make agreement more difficult, while poorer countries are looking to Western nations for funding to adapt to climate change.

Coalition seeks faster action

At last year’s climate conference in Brazil, countries failed to include a commitment to move away from fossil fuels in the final conclusions. Around 80 countries then formed a coalition to advance climate action, including efforts to phase out fossil fuels. Finland is part of the coalition.

Climate Leadership Coalition chief executive Tuuli Kaskinen said the expected breach of the 1.5-degree limit, along with heatwaves, mudslides and reports of melting glaciers, would weigh on the talks.