At the recent Bonn Climate Change Conference, climate negotiators met to discuss a range of issues – from mitigation to adaptation, finance to technology and capacity-building – and prepare decisions for adoption at COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye in November. Fiona Harvey wrote in the Guardian that for “decades, electrification has been a nerdish backwater of global climate action. But in the last two weeks, at preparatory talks in Bonn before the forthcoming UN Cop31 climate summit, the subject finally took centre stage.” Murat Kurum, Turkey’s environment minister, who will co-host the COP31 summit this November, told the Guardian last week: “Without electrification, we won’t be able to reach any of the targets [of the Paris agreement], so we must go through this transformation. Whether you call it the missing piece of the puzzle or the most important tool that we have in our toolkit, this is the case.” Turkey, with the support of Australia, which is co-president of COP31, has proposed setting a target of 35% of final energy to come from electricity by 2035.
The Financial Times continues on the theme of electrification, referring to a survey of almost 2,000 executives across 18 countries that found that 91% believed the switch from fossil fuel-powered equipment to electric alternatives, such as electric furnaces, heat pumps or vehicles, would improve their energy security. “Three-quarters of those polled said they expected to replace the majority of fossil-fuel-powered equipment by 2030, but 72 per cent complained that government policies were lagging behind and hindering the shift to electrification.”
On theafricareport.com website, Alix Lavoué considers whether the World Bank will retreat on climate finance targets. The World Bank’s Climate Change Action Plan, or CCAP, will expire on 30 June. “Washington wants the institution to prioritize growth and energy security over climate goals, raising questions about a 45% climate financing target and curbs on gas projects.” Some observers say management is considering scrapping the 45% target outright rather than lowering it. Rajneesh Bhuee, of the NGO Recourse, thinks a weaker compromise is more likely. “Management, and especially its climate and energy teams, do not want to bear the reputational cost that would come with abandoning this flagship climate plan,” she says. She expects “an extension, or a weakened replacement, to the point where it becomes largely symbolic”. Jürgen Zattler, Germany’s representative on the World Bank board during Donald Trump’s first term, says the signal would matter. “If the plan is not renewed, it is first and foremost a signal. The World Bank is meant to act as a champion on this issue. Dropping the framework would suggest that it is giving up, at least in part, on that role.”
Watch this – Energy Efficiency: The Most Underrated Solution to Climate Change | Energy 101, Ep 9 In this video, Chris Jardine explores why energy efficiency may be the most underrated solution to climate change, drawing on insights from one of the UK’s leading energy efficiency experts, Professor Nick Eyre.
The European Environment Agency (EEA) and its European Environment Information and Observation Network (Eionet) this week welcomed Ukraine as a cooperating country, extending the EEA’s country network to 32 member and 8 cooperating countries across Europe.
In planning travel over the upcoming weeks, here are some useful ideas to help you along:
- Check out the Good Night Train website for the unique way to travel through Europe while you sleep.
- There’s never been a more important moment to travel right in Europe with masses of overdevelopment, cruise ships, walking pollution and captive cetaceans still hot topics when it comes to responsible tourism issues in Europe. Check out the Responsible Travel website.
- World Walks provides us with walking holidays in Europe.
- Here are 15 remarkable mountain peaks in Europe to conquer in summer.
- Cycling for Softies provides us with the 15 best cycling holidays in Europe in 2026.
John Tukey (1915-2000), an American mathematician and statistician, gives us his views on answering questions: “Far better an approximate answer to the right question, which is often vague, than an exact answer to the wrong question, which can always be made precise.
EiD welcomes your views about this week’s selection of posts on the zero-carbon energy transition:
- New EEA assessment on quality of Europe’s bathing water
- Electrification, energy security and the new industrial race
- When insurance stops working: climate change and the rise of uninsurable places
- Canada’s climate paradox
- Can Europe reconcile housing affordability and net zero?
- The world’s great cities are becoming heat islands
- Canada’s energy and climate transition: climate credibility is on trial
- The electric vehicle revolution is happening faster than anyone expected
- Listening to climate change through women’s work songs
- Clean energy has become the new energy security strategy
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Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 