A new report has found that the “35 by 35” global electrification target being promoted by the twin COP31 Presidencies will need to be translated into more specific targets for countries and sectors in order to be maximally effective.
“35 by 35” means that governments would aim to increase the share of global final energy consumption met by electricity from almost 24% in 2023 to 35% by 2035.
The report, by Climate Action Tracker (CAT), explains that due to insufficient action, the world can’t stop itself from going past 1.5°C – instead, it now has to minimise how far and how long it exceeds it for.
Samuel Guéret, a CAT Climate and Energy Policy Analyst with partner organisation Climate Analytics, said: “The 35 by 35 target is critical for advancing action on climate change, but needs to be one of a suite of complementary actions that also includes scaling up renewables, improving energy efficiency and phasing out fossil fuels to limit the overshoot of 1.5°C and bring warming back below it.
“The target is not the endpoint, but an important milestone on a longer and deeper electrification journey. And electrification only limits overshoot if the electricity is cleanly generated, which is why this target should be seen as part of a package with the renewables and efficiency targets agreed at COP28; taken alone, countries could meet the target by simply adding electricity to the system (e.g. data centres) or by keeping or even adding fossil fuels to electricity systems.”
The report finds that reaching 35 by 35 would require electrification to accelerate almost fourfold. Instead, the report recommends a multi-layered framework to provide a comprehensive assessment of electrification.
The report also says that a common global target should not be applied equally to every sector nor every country.
Copyright © 2026 Energy Live News LtdELN