Push for electrification finally takes centre stage in pre-Cop31 climate talks

Manufacturing of axial-flux electric motors, which recently launched at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Berlin. Photograph: Filip Singer/EPA View image in fullscreen Manufacturing of axial-flux electric motors, which recently launched at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Berlin. Photograph: Filip Singer/EPA Push for electrification finally takes centre stage in pre-Cop31 climate talks Apart from effort to electrify, there were geopolitical tensions around climate science and the 1.5C goal Electrifying the world – with electric vehicles , electric heating and cooling, and modernised heavy industry – could be the next biggest step towards phasing out fossil fuels, replacing the 80% of global energy that still comes from hydrocarbons. As using electrical energy is much more efficient than combustion, the move would save billions of dollars for consumers and businesses – global energy demand could be halved, according to one estimate. For decades, electrification has been a nerdish backwater of global climate action. But in the last two weeks, at preparatory talks in Bonn before the forthcoming UN Cop31 climate summit , the subject finally took centre stage. Murat Kurum, Turkey’s environment minister, who will co-host the Cop31 summit this November, told the Guardian last week: “Without electrification, we won’t be able to reach any of the targets [of the Paris agreement], so we must go through this transformation. Whether you call it the missing piece of the puzzle or the most important tool that we have in our toolkit, this is the case.” Turkey, with the support of Australia, which is co-president of Cop31 , has proposed setting a target of 35% of final energy to come from electricity by 2035. “This is the most important pillar in reducing emissions – you need to increase electrification in cities, in manufacturing, in [all aspects of life], and will serve us in the bigger picture, the bigger targets [of the Paris agreement],” he said. The push to electrify was the highlight of two weeks of talks in Bonn that otherwise offered little to cheer. After a cordial start to the annual meeting, held roughly at the halfway point between annual climate “conference of the party” (Cop) summits, by the final days the negotiations descended into near-farce, with some countries refusing to agree wording that would base decisions on “the best available science”, despite this being a cornerstone of climate agreements for more than 30 years. The talks, which were supposed to lay the groundwork for Cop31 , finished on Thursday evening with many issues unresolved. View image in fullscreen The UN climate chief, Simon Stiell. Photograph: Bernd Arnold/The Guardian “We have seen side-stepping and stalling,” said the UN climate chief, Simon Stiell, admonishing countries as two weeks of talks slid to a conclusion on Thursday night. “We’ve seen geopolitical tensions wash through these halls. We simply cannot afford to reopen previous decisions, to renegotiate existing targets, or to ba