Governments and Companies Launch Initiative to Accelerate Low-Carbon Electrification

Event at London Climate Action Week promotes safe, affordable energy aligned with climate action.

A coalition of countries, private-sector representatives, and civil society organizations launched the “Electrify Now” campaign on Tuesday (23/6) in London, a global initiative supporting low-carbon electrification.

The launch took place at the Global Summit on Energy Transition and Electrification during London Climate Action Week. “The age of clean electrification is here. The question is whether we can build the grids and storage, mobilize the investment, and deliver the infrastructure at the speed and scale required,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said.

At COP28, the UAE Consensus and the First Global Stocktake of the Paris Agreement called for tripling renewable energy and doubling energy efficiency by 2030. It also established a foundation for transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science.

“At COP 30, we have essentially, very clearly seen that we have already made many decisions that give us the mandate to go in this direction, and the Global Stocktake from Dubai is the clearest expression of that,” COP30 President Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago said. “Many of the plans that were announced in Belém from the Global Action Agenda are touching electrification and so it goes exactly in the same direction.”

The COP31 Presidency, held by Türkiye, has proposed a global target of 35% of final energy demand to be met by electricity by 2035 as part of its Action Agenda. The Global Action Agenda activation groups are already mobilized to help advance this priority through the Plans to Accelerate Solutions.

“Momentum around a ‘35 by 35’ target for COP31 is already building, as progress in the real economy demonstrates that this mission is achievable. Our task as political leaders is now to guide and further accelerate that progress,” said COP31 President-Designate Murat Kurum. “In Antalya this November, we will bring together even more actors to begin a truly global conversation on electrification and take the next steps.”

A recent survey found that 91% of global business leaders see electrification as key to strengthening energy security and resilience, and that 82% want their country powered mainly by renewable electricity. 

Electrification will be part of the COP30 Presidency roadmap for transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science. “I committed to present, on a date shortly before COP 31, a roadmap on transitioning away from fossil fuels. And in this roadmap electrification is an absolutely central point,” said Lago. “I'm really glad to see things advancing, using the structures that are already in place, using the mandates that are already in place. All this is into the logic of the implementation of the Paris Accord. So we are here together to say yes, we can do that now and we will have to do that together."

The launch event was co-organized by the UK Government, E3G, the Global Renewables Alliance (GRA), and the We Mean Business Coalition (WMBC).