The age of electricity has arrived

Global coalition launches ‘Electrify Now’ movement to accelerate action to meet 35% electrification target 

London, 23 June 2026 — Today, at the Global Energy Transition and Electrification Summit at London Climate Week, a coalition of governments, business groups, think tanks, and civil society organisations will launch ‘Electrify Now,’ a global movement to supercharge electrification powered by renewable energy.

This multi-year initiative, backed by governments including the European Commission, UK, Australia, Turkey and Ethiopia, and led by more than 40 organisations and alliances from around the world, aims to galvanise global support for faster electrification, with the mission of increasing electricity's share of final energy consumption from around 21% per cent today to 35% by 2035.

Electrification means expanding electricity systems to meet a greater share of humanity’s needs, and replacing the use of fossil fuels with electrified transport, heating, cooling, cooking, and industrial processes. As countries seek to strengthen energy security, reduce costs, and cut emissions, electrification is one of the most effective solutions available.

“We are facing our second major energy crisis in just four years. There has never been a more urgent moment to shift to renewable electrification. Today’s oil and gas crisis could cost households, businesses, and governments as much as $1 trillion,” said Bruce Douglas, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Renewables Alliance.

“As governments shift from crisis response to long-term planning, renewable electrification must become central to their energy strategies. The Electrify Now campaign aims to make electrification a top priority for decision-makers worldwide as they build more secure, affordable, and sustainable energy systems for the future,” he said.

CEO of the We Mean Business Coalition, María Mendiluce, said electrification was becoming a defining feature of the global economic transition, with businesses already investing in technologies and infrastructure.

"We are witnessing the beginning of a profound economic transformation. The next era of growth will be built on electricity. Businesses are already investing because they see electrification as the foundation of more competitive and resilient operations. This is about far more than replacing one technology with another. It is about rewiring economies for the industries of the future. The countries that recognise this shift and create the conditions for businesses to invest will shape the jobs, industries and prosperity of the decades ahead," said Dr Mendiluce.

The movement aims to galvanise stakeholders to take action and raise ambition, calling on governments to put electrification at the centre of their energy policies by working together to achieve 35% electrification by 2035 globally - a target supported by the best available science from the IEA and IRENA - and recently put forward by the COP31 incoming Presidency. 

The movement urges governments to:

• Translate the collective global ambition into action via national and sub-national action plans, policies and electrotech deployment.

• Match increasing electricity demand with continued investment in renewable energy, modernised and expanded electricity grids, and energy storage.

• Advance international cooperation, by exchanging experience through bilateral and multilateral meetings, leveraging coalitions of ambition around the energy transition and deploying technical assistance to support electrification planning capacity.

• Mobilise investment and financing at scale by using public finance to crowd in private capital, while ensuring international finance institutions systematically integrate electrification into energy, climate, crisis response, and capacity-building support.

• 
  

The CEO of the Energy Efficiency Council of Australia, Luke Menzel, said that electrification was a compelling energy strategy because it would deliver a step change in energy efficiency across the global economy, shrinking total energy consumption even as electricity demand grows, and improving the affordability for energy consumers in the process.

“Electrification is on average three times more energy efficient than combustion based energy, and electrifying our transport, heating, cooling, cooking, and industrial processes is the most affordable, efficient and secure way to power our lives and the world,” said Mr Menzel.

Dave Jones, co-founder of think tank Ember, said that electrification was no longer a technology challenge, but rather a deployment challenge.

“Up to three-quarters of global energy demand can already be electrified with technologies available today. Innovation has been rampant, and the prices and quality of these products are unrecognisable compared to during the last global energy crisis in 2022. The economics of making the switch have never been so compelling,” said Mr Jones.

Note to editors

Electrify Now is a movement of governments, business groups, think tanks and civil society organisations united by a mission to accelerate the rate and rollout of electrification of energy systems worldwide, and fast-track our clean, electric future. Visit the web site for a full list of Electrify Now partners.

Three groups of technologies are coming together to form a revolution in the way the world generates, uses, accesses, and transports electricity, with renewable energy, supported by modernised grids and storage, meeting increasing electricity demand from electric vehicles, heat pumps and industry, whilst batteries and digitalisation are driving increased efficiency of use.