23 Sept 2026
COP31 Presidency’s 35 by 35 Pledge adds momentum to electrification drive
Electrify Now
The COP31 Presidency has invited Heads of State and governments to join a pledge to raise collective global ambition on electrification to 35% of final energy consumption by 2035 - the rate of electrification needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
The pledge builds on growing political momentum behind electrification and signals the direction and speed required for collective global action. Its focus on delivery mechanisms - including tracking progress, sharing knowledge, strengthening support for grid investment, mobilising finance and setting expectations for artificial intelligence - is essential to building long-term action that can translate the 35-by-35 ambition into investment and deployment well beyond COP31.
Over the decade ahead, the rate of electrification deployment must quadruple, installed renewable energy capacity must triple, and the rate of energy efficiency improvements must double. Amidst a global energy crisis exposing the volatility of fossil fuels, these are critical steps to achieving the global ambition to transition away from fossil fuels in a just, orderly and equitable manner.
Electrification should not be treated as a pretext for extending or expanding fossil fuel-based power generation. Electrification, powered by renewables, provides the most direct pathway to meeting 35 by 35, whilst enhancing energy and climate security, boosting productivity, energy affordability, expanding energy access and reducing fossil fuel dependence. Every country can benefit from accelerating the shift to clean electricity to power their economies.
Reaching the 35 by 2035 goal will require sustained action from governments, business and civil society, alongside rapid investment in renewable power, grids and technologies that can replace fossil fuel combustion. This is critical to delivering on all of the Global Stocktake energy transition goals.
The momentum must translate into long-term action that supports countries to turn ambition into national implementation. Countries have differing contexts and starting positions and will need different levels of support to accelerate clean electrification and energy access, backed by international cooperation, finance, technology and capacity-building.
Electrify Now looks forward to working with governments and partners across the global community to build on this momentum and accelerate the transition to clean electrification, across sectors, regions and economies.