The COP31 Presidency’s global “35 by 35” electrification target aims to increase electricity’s share of final global energy consumption to 35 percent by 2035, potentially creating another major growth engine for renewable energy, electricity grids, battery storage and electric mobility.
The initiative comes as global energy investment is expected to reach a record $3.4 trillion in 2026, while renewable capacity additions, electric vehicle adoption and electricity demand are reshaping the global energy system.
The COP31 Presidency’s 35 by 35 electrification initiative calls for electricity to meet 35 percent of final global energy consumption by 2035, compared with slightly more than 20 percent currently.
Reaching the target would require a major expansion of electricity use across transport, buildings and industry, supported by renewable generation, transmission and distribution networks, battery storage, charging infrastructure and energy-efficiency technologies.
$2.2 Trillion Clean Energy Investment Supports Electrification
Capital is already moving rapidly toward electricity and clean-energy infrastructure.
The International Energy Agency expects total global energy investment to increase 5 percent to $3.4 trillion in 2026, despite geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
Around $2.2 trillion is expected to flow into renewables, nuclear power, electricity grids, storage, low-emission fuels, energy efficiency and electrification. This compares with approximately $1.2 trillion flowing into oil, natural gas and coal.
Electricity-related investment now represents nearly 60 percent of total global energy investment, according to the IEA World Energy Investment 2026 report.
The investment trend provides an important foundation for COP31’s 35-by-35 ambition. Increasing electricity’s share of final energy consumption by roughly 15 percentage points will require not only more generation but also extensive infrastructure to deliver electricity to vehicles, factories, homes and businesses.
Renewable Capacity Added Record 692 GW in 2025
Renewable power is expanding rapidly enough to become an increasingly important source of electricity for electrification.
Global renewable capacity increased by a record 692 GW during 2025, expanding the world’s renewable power fleet by 15.5 percent, according to IRENA Renewable Capacity Statistics 2026.
Renewables accounted for approximately 49 percent of global installed power capacity at the end of 2025.
More importantly, renewable technologies represented 85.6 percent of all new power capacity added globally during the year.
Solar and wind accounted for much of this expansion.
These figures indicate that the supply side of the global electricity transition is already moving rapidly. The 35-by-35 initiative shifts greater attention toward the demand side — ensuring that transport, heating, manufacturing and other activities increasingly consume electricity rather than fossil fuels.
Dave Jones, Chief Analyst at Ember, said: “Electrification is now centre-stage. Sky-high prices for diesel, petrol and gas have put governments, industry and consumers on an urgent mission to find a different way.”
“The economics are the biggest driver, but electrification also provides a better way: a solution that doesn’t fuel wars, cause climate change, pollute its people, and hold whole countries to ransom. In the last energy crisis, electrification wasn’t ready. Now it is. The energy story of 2026 is electrification,” Dave Jones said.
Electricity Grids Could Become Biggest Bottleneck
Grid infrastructure could become one of the biggest obstacles to achieving the COP31 electrification target.
The IEA estimates that more than 2,500 GW of renewable generation, energy storage and large electricity-consuming projects are currently waiting in grid connection queues worldwide.
Annual grid investment currently stands at approximately $400 billion.
The IEA estimates that meeting electricity demand through 2030 will require annual grid investment to rise by around 50 percent, implying investment approaching $600 billion annually.
Grid projects also take considerably longer to develop than many electricity generation and consumption projects.
New transmission and distribution infrastructure can require 5–15 years for planning, permitting and construction. By comparison, renewable projects can typically be developed within 1–5 years, data centers within 1–3 years, and EV charging infrastructure within around 1–2 years.
The mismatch means countries could add renewable capacity and electrified demand faster than electricity networks can accommodate them.
Grid expansion, digitalisation, interconnections, demand response and storage will therefore be critical to the 35-by-35 target.
Solar and Wind Could Supply 27% of Global Electricity by 2030
Solar PV and wind are expected to play a central role in supplying additional electricity demand.
According to the IEA, the combined share of solar and wind in global electricity generation is projected to increase from approximately 17 percent currently to 27 percent by 2030.
This shift has major implications for battery energy storage.
Solar output peaks during daylight hours while electricity demand can peak at different times. Wind generation can also fluctuate significantly depending on weather conditions.
Battery storage allows electricity systems to shift renewable power between periods of high generation and high demand while providing balancing and other grid services.
Achieving 35 percent electrification could therefore increase demand not only for renewable generation but also for BESS, long-duration storage, grid-scale batteries and smart-grid technologies.
EV Sales Could Reach 29% of Global Car Market in 2026
Transport represents one of the largest opportunities for electrification.
Electric car sales exceeded 20 million units in 2025, increasing about 20 percent from 2024 and representing approximately one-quarter of global new-car sales.
The latest IEA assessment expects EVs to account for approximately 29 percent of worldwide car sales in 2026.
EV adoption is already particularly strong in China, where electric vehicles are expected to exceed 60 percent of new-car sales in 2026.
Europe is another major electrification market, while adoption is accelerating across several emerging economies.
The IEA Global EV Outlook 2026 projects that the global EV fleet across vehicle categories excluding electric two- and three-wheelers could exceed 450 million vehicles by 2035 under current policies — more than five times the level at the end of 2025.
Every additional electric vehicle shifts energy demand from petroleum products toward electricity, directly contributing to the broader electrification objective.
Buildings Add Another Electrification Opportunity
Buildings represent another large source of potential electricity demand.
Heat pumps can replace natural gas, heating oil and other fossil fuels used for space and water heating, while electric cooking can reduce direct fossil-fuel consumption.
At the same time, growing air-conditioning demand across Asia, the Middle East, Africa and other warmer regions is increasing electricity requirements.
Energy efficiency will therefore need to advance alongside electrification. More efficient cooling systems, appliances and buildings can limit the additional generation and grid capacity required to accommodate rising electricity consumption.
Industrial Electrification Remains More Difficult
Industry presents a more complex challenge.
Many low- and medium-temperature industrial processes can potentially shift toward electric boilers, industrial heat pumps and direct electric heating.
High-temperature processes used in industries such as steel, cement and chemicals are harder to electrify and may require combinations of direct electricity, hydrogen and other low-carbon technologies.
Electricity prices will also be critical.
Industrial companies will have limited incentives to replace established fossil-fuel systems unless electricity supplies are reliable, affordable and predictable.
Expanding low-cost solar and wind generation alongside grids and storage could therefore determine how rapidly industrial electrification develops.
35 by 35 Could Reshape Global Energy Investment
Moving electricity from slightly more than 20 percent to 35 percent of final energy consumption by 2035 represents much more than an electricity-sector target.
It requires simultaneous investment across renewable generation, grids, battery storage, electric vehicles, charging networks, industrial equipment, heat pumps, smart grids and digital energy-management systems.
Several 2026 indicators show the scale of the transition already underway: $3.4 trillion in expected global energy investment, $2.2 trillion directed toward clean-energy technologies and infrastructure, 692 GW of renewable capacity added during 2025, more than 2,500 GW of projects waiting for grid connections, and EVs potentially reaching 29 percent of global car sales in 2026.
The COP31 35-by-35 pledge effectively connects these trends under a broader objective: moving the global economy away from directly consuming fossil fuels and toward increasingly consuming electricity generated from cleaner energy sources.
For renewable-energy companies, utilities, grid equipment suppliers, battery manufacturers and infrastructure investors, reaching 35 percent global electrification by 2035 could translate into sustained demand for new power generation and electricity infrastructure for the next decade.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH
