The COP31 summit in Antalya, Turkiye is set to establish a landmark '35-by-35' pledge - increasing electricity's share in global energy mix to 35% by 2035 from the current 20-23%. According to reports from Business Standard, Turkish president-designate Murat Kurum announced this commitment, prepared with the International Energy Agency (IEA) and International Renewable Energy Agency. The plan aims to keep the 1.5-degree Celsius planet-warming target within reach while building on the Dubai COP28 target to triple renewable capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030. Australia has now joined the initiative, announcing on Wednesday that it would sign up for the goal, though it remains unclear how this voluntary target will be reflected in the final COP31 cover decision. As per Climate Change News, Pacific leaders are railing at climate finance failures at pre-COP, with COP31 expected to agree on cutting methane emissions - a particularly potent greenhouse gas.
For India, achieving the COP31 target would mean nearly doubling electricity's share in a decade as power demand surges at 6-7% annually. As reported by Business Standard, India's energy mix remains dominated by fossil fuels at over 75%, with electrification accounting for only 18-20%. The road to electrification has progressed by only 4-5 percentage points every decade, half that of China, whose power consumption and economy are five times that of India. China has set a 35% electrification share by 2030 - five years ahead of the global target. However, achieving these targets requires addressing grid management, transmission capacity, and financial sustainability challenges in distribution companies.
Critical to the electrification targets are transport, cooking and industry sectors, which together account for around 45% of global emissions. According to Business Standard, India is pursuing electrification particularly in transport and industrial sectors with a view to achieving net zero by 2070. However, coal still accounts for 70-75% of India's generation and will be instrumental in meeting an unprecedented peak load of 270 gigawatts this month. Despite rapid renewable expansion, 43GW of coal power is under construction.
India faces significant infrastructure constraints in its electrification journey. As reported by Business Standard, battery storage capacity is not sufficient to reduce curtailment of electricity transmission from renewables. Tenders for battery energy storage systems declined 9.3% in FY27 compared to the previous year. India curtailed 2.3TWh of solar generation in the second half of 2025, with total losses reaching 3TWh in Q1 2026. In Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat - states accounting for 45% of India's renewable generation capacity - some projects face curtailment of up to 50%.
Despite infrastructure challenges, India has made significant progress in clean energy adoption. According to Business Standard, rapid clean power expansion kept power sector emissions flat for the last two years - the first time in over 50 years. Clean energy met 7% rise in India's electricity demand, adding 63 terawatt hours equivalent to Switzerland's total demand. The India draft national electricity policy sets per capita consumption goals of 2,000 kilowatt hours by 2030 and over 4,000 kWh by 2047. However, achieving these targets requires addressing grid management, transmission capacity, and financial sustainability challenges in distribution companies.
