The global energy system runs on combustion. Oil, gas, coal — burned for transport, for heating, for steel and cement. Roughly 80 percent of the energy used in those sectors still comes from burning stuff.
Turkey’s environment minister, Murat Kurum, is now asking the world to change that equation. Fast.
Kurum will co-preside over the COP31 climate talks alongside Australian representatives. Turkey is the host nation. That gives him a platform.
He is using it to push a single, concrete number: raise the share of electricity in meeting total global energy demand from about one-fifth today to 35 percent by 2035. Think about what that means.
Electricity already accounts for roughly a third of global generation from renewable sources. That share has been ticking up steadily. The problem is that the rest of the economy — the hard-to-abate sectors — still leans overwhelmingly on fossil fuels.
Kurum’s plan is essentially a recipe to shift a much bigger portion of that load onto the electrical grid, which is increasingly powered by cleaner sources. The timing is deliberate. COP31 is coming.
Turkey, as host, gets to set the agenda. Kurum is laying down a marker before the talks even begin.
He is arguing that electrifying all sectors of the economy is the path to a low-carbon future. Not a path. The path.
The practical upshot of hitting that 35 percent target would be a significant dent in greenhouse gas emissions. A meaningful reduction in the world’s reliance on fossil fuels.
That is the prize. But the gap is wide. Right now, electricity meets only about one-fifth of total global energy demand.
The other four-fifths comes from burning things. To hit 35 percent in a decade, countries need to do two things at once: build out clean electricity generation faster than ever before, and electrify everything that can be electrified — cars, buses, home heating, industrial processes. It is not a small ask.
It is a structural shift in how the world powers itself. Kurum is essentially asking every country to adopt a national electrification strategy, with a hard target attached.
No vague pledges. A number. A deadline.
The proposal comes with some wind at its back. The share of global electricity generated from renewables has been climbing.
Solar and wind are now cheaper than coal and gas in many markets. Battery costs have fallen sharply. Electric vehicle sales are growing.
The pieces are in place, in theory. In practice, the hard-to-abate sectors remain stubborn. Heavy industry — steel, cement, chemicals — cannot simply plug into a socket.
Long-haul shipping and aviation are not easily electrified. Heating buildings in cold climates requires enormous amounts of energy that most grids cannot yet supply cleanly.
Those are the gaps Kurum is trying to close. Turkey’s push is notable because it frames electrification not as a niche climate policy but as the central strategy. The minister is not asking for a little more solar.
He is asking for a wholesale re-engineering of global energy use. Raise the share of electricity from 20 percent to 35 percent in ten years.
That is the goal. Whether countries will sign on is another question. COP31 will provide the answer.
Kurum has put the target on the table. Now the negotiations begin.
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