IEA Chief voiced strong support for the “35 by 35 initiative,” a core pledge led by Türkiye’s COP31 Presidency

Global electricity demand is growing three times faster than overall energy consumption, signaling a fundamental shift into a new era for the world energy system, according to Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Speaking to Anadolu Agency ahead of next month’s U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP31), Birol voiced strong support for the “35 by 35 initiative,” a core pledge led by Türkiye’s COP31 Presidency to raise the share of electricity in global final energy consumption from 23% today to 35% by 2035.

IEA establishes annual monitoring mechanism

Unveiled in September by COP31 President-Designate Murat Kurum during New York Climate Week, the target emerged following high-level discussions involving Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and the IEA. Birol noted that dozens of nations are already prepared to sign the declaration.

Under the proposed framework, governments in Türkiye and Australia are expected to task the IEA with establishing an annual monitoring mechanism. The agency will track country-level progress, assess year-over-year gains in electrification, and identify regions requiring additional support. (By the way I have a story here about Turkey’s elecricity demand and biomass)

Birol highlighted three primary catalysts accelerating global power consumption beyond traditional growth projections:

• Artificial Intelligence: The rapid expansion of AI infrastructure and data centers is creating significant new demand on electrical capacity.

• Electric Vehicles: Global EV adoption has surged from 5% of all new car sales five years ago to 32% this year.

• Extreme Heat: Rising global temperatures have triggered a sharp increase in energy demand for residential and commercial air conditioning.

Modernizing power grids is the single largest hurdle

However, Birol warned that modernizing power grids remains the single largest hurdle to achieving full electrification.

“I believe the biggest challenge is not building power plants—we are doing that around the world—but delivering this electricity to homes and factories through power grids,” Birol said. “There is currently a grid problem worldwide, and energy infrastructure must keep pace with this transformation.”

Image: Gemini