Germany to push for renewables focus in COP31 talks about global electrification pledge – official

The German government aims to make sure that countries focus on renewable energy sources as part of a pledge to electrify their economies, which will be debated during the two-week UN climate change conference COP31, environment ministry state secretary Heike Henn said during a press conference. 

Turkey is hosting the conference in the Mediterranean coast city Antalya from today (9 November), and has proposed that countries set the collective global target to increase the share of final energy demand met by electricity from just over 20 percent today to 35 percent by 2035. Electrifying all sectors of the economy is seen as key to a successful transition to climate neutrality, but only if the electricity used is clean. However, the pledge’s text does not require the additional electricity supply to come from clean sources, instead only calling for the goal to be met with “diverse and sustainable energy sources” and does not mention fossil fuels. 

German environment minister Carsten Schneider has advocated for faster electrification for some time, arguing that replacing the combustion of fossil fuels with renewable electricity in sectors like industry, transport and buildings will make economies more resilient and efficient. 

State secretary Henn, who leads the German government delegation at COP31, welcomed that the pledge says the goal should be reached “in line with pathways consistent with keeping 1.5°C alive,” referring to the Paris Agreement's maximum temperature increase target. “For us, the fundamental prerequisite for joining the pledge remains that this link to 1.5° provides a clear path forward,” the official told journalists in Antalya. 

Henn said Germany has a clear position on pushing for renewable energy in the pledge. "And we will continue to raise this point time and again with stakeholders in all bodies and processes relating to it," she added. Environment minister Schneider said last week that Germany supported the pledge, while EU governments collectively have so far only come out supporting “clean electrification” more broadly. 

Representatives from almost 200 countries are meeting in Turkey from 9 to 20 November at a UN climate conference that has been dubbed an “implementation COP.” This is meant to shift the focus from governments negotiating new action to address climate change to instead highlight concrete solutions and open up space for sharing best practices. 

German chancellor Friedrich Merz does not plan to visit the conference in Turkey, leading to criticism by climate activists and opposition politicians for sending the wrong signal in a year when Germany and large parts of Europe suffered from unprecedented heat stress.