Key facts
- Turkey's proposed pledge would measure progress by the share of final energy demand supplied by electricity.
- The proposal does not specify how the electricity must be generated, so coal- and gas-fired power would count toward the target.
- Reaching 35% would not necessarily mean the world consumed less fossil fuel in absolute terms, the report said.
- Portugal has called for the proposed target to be explicitly linked to clean electricity.
- Coal supplied about one-third of Turkey's electricity last year and more than 40% of Australia's, which chairs the talks.
- Turkey expects Gabar region output to exceed 100,000 barrels per day in the second half of 2027, up from about 84,000 bpd.
Turkey is asking the nearly 200 countries at COP31 to commit to raising electricity's share of global energy consumption to 35% by 2035, from roughly 20% at the time of the report. The proposal, which Turkey wants written into the conference's final agreement, contains no requirement to actually reduce fossil fuel consumption, and support for it remains uncertain.
The pledge would track progress by the percentage of final energy demand supplied by electricity. It does not say how that electricity must be generated, so power from coal- and gas-fired plants would count toward the target, and reaching 35% would not necessarily mean the world consumed less fossil fuel in absolute terms.
The question bears on the countries running the negotiations in Antalya. Coal supplied approximately one-third of Turkey's electricity last year and more than 40% of Australia's, and Australia chairs the talks. Portugal has called for the proposed target to be explicitly linked to clean electricity.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged governments on Tuesday to establish clear timelines for moving away from fossil fuels. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a separate energy announcement on Monday: the discovery of two oilfields in the Gabar region containing an estimated 135 million barrels of oil in place. Turkey expects production there to exceed 100,000 barrels per day in the second half of 2027, up from approximately 84,000 bpd. The report said the discovery estimate does not establish how much oil can ultimately be recovered commercially.
Electrifying transportation, heating and industrial processes can reduce direct fossil fuel consumption and improve energy efficiency, though the emissions reductions depend partly on the sources generating the additional electricity, according to the report.