Global electrification accelerates as solar hits record installations and COP31 presidency proposes 35% electricity target
Global electrification is gaining momentum as solar and wind additions topped historic levels in 2025 and the incoming COP31 presidency unveiled a target to raise the share of energy met by electricity to 35% by 2035.
The world added a record volume of solar and wind capacity last year, driven largely by unprecedented solar deployment, while international policymakers in Bonn put a bold electrification goal on the table ahead of the climate summit in Antalya.
Solar surge drives record renewable capacity in 2025
The global build-out of solar and wind reached an all-time high in 2025, with analysts reporting unprecedented annual additions that were led by photovoltaic installations. This single-year surge significantly expanded global clean power capacity and marked a turning point in how electricity is sourced worldwide. (denkstrom.org)
Solar’s extraordinary pace of deployment contributed disproportionately to the new capacity, allowing renewables to meet a growing share of rising electricity demand even as consumption climbed in many regions. The scale of additions has reshaped short-term power-market dynamics and backed faster coal displacement in the power mix. (ember-energy.org)
Renewables eclipsed coal in electricity generation in 2025
Analyses of 2025 generation data show renewables collectively producing more electricity than coal for the first time in decades, a milestone with clear implications for emissions trajectories. This shift reflects both rapid deployment of variable renewables and slower growth or decline in coal-fired output in key markets. (ember-energy.org)
While renewables overtook coal in aggregate generation, regional differences remain stark: some countries still rely heavily on coal, while others have already moved to majority renewable grids. The global milestone nonetheless underlines a structural change in how power systems are evolving. (ember-energy.org)
COP31 presidency proposes a 35% electrification target by 2035
At the June climate meetings in Bonn, Türkiye’s COP31 presidency unveiled an explicit target to raise the share of final energy demand supplied by electricity from roughly 20% today to 35% by 2035. The proposal frames electrification as a central lever for rapid decarbonization across transport, buildings and industry. (unfccc.int)
The target is being presented as part of a broader Action Agenda aimed at building international consensus ahead of the COP31 summit in Antalya, and it is intended to prompt policy measures that shift consumption away from direct fossil-fuel use toward cleaner electric solutions. (cop31.tr)
IEA and analysts forecast continued rapid renewable growth
International Energy Agency assessments and sector studies indicate that renewable power capacity is expected to expand sharply over the next five years, with forecasts showing capacity increases that could nearly double recent deployment rates. Those projections underscore that the 2025 surge is not a one-off but the start of a sustained phase of growth. (iea.org)
The projected ramp-up will require continued cost declines, faster permitting, and large-scale investment in grid upgrades and storage to integrate variable generation. Meeting those conditions consistently across regions will be critical if the sector is to keep pace with electrification ambitions. (iea.org)
Efficiency gains and emissions benefits from electrification
A key rationale behind the push for global electrification is efficiency: electric motors, heat pumps and other electric technologies typically convert a larger share of primary energy into useful services than combustion-based alternatives. That efficiency advantage helps reduce fuel consumption and related CO2 emissions even before accounting for cleaner power supplies.
When coupled with rapidly expanding renewable generation, broader electrification can therefore produce outsized emissions reductions across transport, buildings and industry and improve overall system productivity. This combined effect is central to the COP31 proposal’s logic. (unfccc.int)
Barriers: grids, investment and equitable access
Translating an electrification target into outcomes will require major investments in transmission, distribution and storage, as well as reforms to permitting, market design and workforce training. Emerging economies and poorer regions face particular challenges in financing infrastructure and ensuring reliable access while scaling up demand for electricity.
Policymakers must also confront temporal and geographic mismatches between where new clean generation is built and where demand rises, which will increase pressure to expand cross-border interconnections, flexible resources and demand-side management. (iea.org)
Expanding electricity’s role in the global energy system is now both a technical task and a political contest, but the combination of record renewable additions in 2025 and a formal electrification target put forward in Bonn suggests momentum is shifting in favor of a cleaner, more electric future. The coming years will determine whether that momentum is translated into coordinated policy, investment and infrastructure on the scale the climate challenge demands.
