Antalya Summit Targets 35% Electrification as U.S. Absent
Negotiations in Turkey aim to shift global energy systems while a war in the Middle East drives up fossil fuel costs.
By Lucas Collins ·
Leaders from around the world gathered in Antalya, Turkey, to begin two weeks of negotiations at the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference. The event, known as COP31, opens against the backdrop of a global energy crisis. The conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran has entered its ninth month. This war triggered the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The blockage has caused oil and natural gas prices to spike sharply.
Kingsmill Bond, an analyst at the energy think tank Ember, notes this crisis differs from previous shocks. He states this is the first global energy event with cheap technological solutions available to address it. Solar panels, batteries, and electric vehicles have seen a sharp rise in adoption globally. Many of these technologies are produced in China. They offer economic security alongside lower emissions.
Bond argues the economic case makes it easier for nations to support these changes. He believes there is more opportunity for people to get behind change at this specific conference. The central goal is increasing the global electrification rate. The target is to move from the current rate of roughly 23% to 35% by 2035. This goal assumes countries will expand their use of renewable energy sources.
Financial services firm Lazard reports that large solar and wind projects now provide more cost-competitive energy than natural gas and coal projects. Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute, supports this shift. He states that more green energy helps nations decarbonize better and faster.
Negotiators are also pushing for a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels. Many countries argue the U.N. process has not done enough to tackle this major driver of climate change. Producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia have opposed including fossil fuel language in final agreements. In April, more than 50 countries met to discuss phasing out oil, gas, and coal. Over 25 of these nations are developing a legally binding treaty to advance that phase-out.
The United States will not send a delegation to the conference. The State Department confirmed this in an email. The country also skipped last year’s meeting in Brazil. The current administration has reversed several climate actions. It is phasing out subsidies for electric vehicles and renewable energy projects. It is also reducing regulations on greenhouse gases.
Ralph Regenvanu, the climate change minister of Vanuatu, previously welcomed the U.S. absence. He noted that fewer recalcitrant nations made negotiations easier. However, some American lawmakers will attend. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island is among them. He plans to focus on fossil fuels and a potential carbon pricing mechanism.
Whitehouse argues that it cannot remain free for the fossil fuel industry to pollute. He believes this is necessary for any pathway to climate safety.
