The rate of global electrification must accelerate almost four-fold over the next decade if the world is to meet a target of sourcing 35% of final energy consumption through electricity by 2035.
The target comes as climate leaders warn that current policies are falling short of the pace required to limit global warming.
At the UN’s 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) climate summit, jointly hosted by Türkiye and Australia, leaders acknowledged that the risk of exceeding the 1.5°C warming threshold is becoming increasingly clear. This places greater urgency on efforts to reduce emissions and accelerate the energy transition.
COP31 President of Negotiations Chris Bowen says the proposed 35% electrification target might not appear ambitious, but reaching it requires a shift in the pace of global progress.
“We’re currently at 23%. The world has no chance of holding to 1.5 degrees unless we lift that to 35%,” Bowen said on 10 November.
“That would require more than a four-fold increase in the rate of electrification around the world. We’ve been improving electrification by 0.3% a year.
“We need to lift that. Global electrification was 17% in 2005, 19% in 2015, and now we’re at 23%. So, it would be a very big lift to get to 35% but it has to be done.”
The 35-by-35 Global Electrification Pledge aims to increase electricity’s share of global final energy consumption from almost 24% in 2023 to 35% in 2035.
Speaking at the COP31 Presidency press conference, COP31 President Murat Kurum says electrification is also important for strengthening energy security and reducing countries’ exposure to international fuel markets.
The global energy market crisis demonstrated the vulnerability of countries dependent on imported fuels. Fuel-importing nations faced US$330 billion ($479 billion) in additional costs between March and August 2026.
As electric technologies become increasingly affordable, expanding their use across transport, buildings, and industry presents an opportunity to reduce this vulnerability. At the same time, it supports cleaner production and more reliable energy supplies.
“We are bringing political will and investment together to achieve more reliable energy, cleaner transport, and lower-emissions production,” Kurum says.
Electrification target falls short
However, a recent report by Climate Action Tracker (CAT) reveals that governments need to electrify much faster if they are to meet the 35% by 2035 target.
“Current policies deliver only 28% by 2035, on a trajectory the IEA [International Energy Agency] associates with around 2.5°C of warming by 2100,” the report says.
CAT reports that the 35% target should be considered a minimum ambition rather than an endpoint. Paris-aligned pathways require electrification to reach 34–41% by 2035, before increasing to 54–68% by 2050.
However, increasing electricity consumption alone will not deliver the emissions reductions required.
The report warns that electrification must be accompanied by a rapid expansion of renewable energy, improvements in energy efficiency, and the phase-out of fossil fuels.
Electricity networks will also need to keep pace with rising demand. This will require investment across transmission and distribution infrastructure, interconnection, energy storage, and demand-response technologies.
Without supporting investments, additional electricity demand could prolong the operation of existing coal and gas-fired power stations or encourage the construction of new fossil fuel generation capacity.
CAT recommends translating the global ambition into more specific national and sectoral benchmarks, recognising that countries face different starting points, infrastructure constraints, and opportunities for electrification.
Mining’s role in electrification
For the mining and resources sector, the electrification push presents an opportunity and a challenge.
The expansion of electric transport, renewable energy generation, electricity networks, and energy storage will require substantial mineral inputs, placing critical mineral supply chains at the centre of the global energy transition.
For example, electric vehicle (EV) batteries contain roughly 200kg of critical minerals, including cobalt, copper, graphite, lithium, nickel, and more.
The IEA reports that the global shift toward electrification and clean energy could drive a four-to-six-fold increase in critical mineral demand by 2040, depending on the pace of the energy transition.
Some of the key drivers include EVs and the expansion of renewable energy. Expanding wind, solar, and transmission networks relies heavily on massive volumes of copper, aluminium, rare earths, and more.
However, the increased demand for these minerals raises questions about how the environmental and social impacts of mining will be managed.
In a separate call to COP31 leaders, more than 150 organisations from the Asia-Pacific region and around the world are urging governments to place Indigenous Peoples’ rights and mining-affected communities at the centre of the transition.
The coalition, highlighted by Resource Justice Network, argues that human rights protections must extend across the entire supply chain of critical energy transition minerals, from extraction through to the manufacturing of clean energy technologies.
Its demands include stronger protections for Indigenous land rights, meaningful participation in project decisions, free, prior, informed, and continuous consent, improved labour conditions, and greater access to the financial benefits of mineral development.
The organisations have also called for greater accountability across mineral supply chains. This includes measures to prevent the clean energy transition from perpetuating fossil fuel dependence through coal-powered mineral processing.
The intervention highlights a growing tension within the energy transition.
While the world needs to accelerate mineral production to support decarbonisation, the industry must also address the social, environmental, and governance risks associated with supplying those materials.
As COP31 shifts its focus from climate commitments towards implementation, the challenge will be ensuring that electrification delivers not only lower emissions and greater energy security, but also a transition that is sustainable across the entire supply chain.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Main image: United Nations
