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IEA and COP31 Leaders Push Electrification Goals Before Climate Summit

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Ministers and energy leaders meeting ahead of the COP31 climate summit discussed accelerating electrification, cutting waste and methane emissions, and strengthening energy security as countries grapple with an energy crisis linked to the conflict in the Middle East, the International Energy Agency said in a statement on Tuesday.

The talks, convened by IEA and the COP31 Presidency during London Climate Action Week, were the second in a series of High-Level Energy Transition Dialogues ahead of the November summit in Antalya, Turkiye.

Participants included ministers from Colombia, Ethiopia, the Netherlands, Norway, Turkiye, and the United Kingdom, as well as European Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jorgensen.

Discussions centered on COP31 goals unveiled earlier this month in Bonn, including a target to meet 35% of final energy consumption with electricity by 2035. The target was identified by the IEA as a key milestone for implementing outcomes agreed at the COP28 summit in Dubai.

Delegates also highlighted methane abatement and zero-waste strategies as tools to reduce emissions and improve energy system resilience, including efforts to halve the growth of global waste. Expanding access to electricity and clean cooking, particularly through increased infrastructure investment and lower financing costs, was another focus.

"Amid the current energy crisis, governments around the world are rethinking their energy strategies," IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said, adding that the IEA would support the COP31 Action Agenda with new analysis, including reports on electrification and waste.

COP31 President-Designate Murat Kurum, who also serves as Turkiye's Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, said COP31 would seek to build political support for electrification and waste-reduction goals, while Chris Bowen, the COP31 President of Negotiations and Australia's Minister for Climate Change and Energy, stressed that countries now have more options than in past oil crises, including energy efficiency measures, renewable power, modern grids and energy storage.

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