Türkiye Unveils COP31 Action Agenda, Aiming to Raise Global Electrification Share to 35% by 2035

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 21, COP31 President and Türkiye's Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum unveiled the COP31 Action Agenda at a United Nations event held in New York, United States, proposing to increase electricity's share of global final energy demand from just over 20% currently to 35% by 2035, and to halve the projected growth in municipal solid waste. COP31 will be held in Antalya, Türkiye, from November 9 to 20, with Türkiye responsible for the presidency and the action agenda, and Australia responsible for the formal negotiation process.

The action agenda covers 10 themes: clean energy and electrification, zero waste and methane reduction, climate-resilient cities, green industrialization, youth and education, food security, oceans, health systems, biodiversity and land use synergies, and implementation of national climate plans. Kurum stated that the agenda focuses on translating existing climate commitments into concrete projects and measurable outcomes, rather than adding new commitments.

In addition to the electrification target, the COP31 Presidency also proposed reducing energy consumption intensity in the building sector by at least 25% by 2035, and increasing the global circular material use rate to at least 15%. Kurum said that if the relevant targets are implemented, cumulative reductions of approximately 8.5 billion to 10 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions could be achieved by 2035. The COP31 Presidency had previously announced three key targets—electrification, waste, and building energy efficiency—during the Bonn Climate Conference in Germany in June, among which raising electricity's share of final energy demand to 35%, halving municipal waste growth, and reducing building energy consumption intensity by at least 25% were all incorporated into this agenda.

On green industrialization, Türkiye plans to launch the "Least Developed Countries Green Industrialization Facility" (LDC-GIF) during COP31, connecting industrialization needs and project opportunities proposed by least developed countries with existing technologies, technical capacity, and financing resources. The mechanism itself does not create new financing instruments, but rather establishes a bridging process around project identification, technology matching, financing, and investment implementation. The COP31 Presidency also proposed building a "Climate Implementation Bridge" to further translate national climate commitments into investment-ready projects.

COP31 also plans to launch special initiatives on green freight corridors, industrial decarbonization, artificial intelligence and clean technology, circular economy, energy-efficient buildings, oceans, food security, and climate-resilient health systems. Under the arrangements of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the pre-COP31 ministerial meeting and leaders' events will be held from October 5 to 8 with the joint participation of Fiji, Tuvalu, and Australia, and the formal agenda document for the conference was released on September 7.