Chris Bowen wants 35% electrification by 2035 as he chairs key climate talks

Bowen, who is now in the most senior COP31 role held by an Australian, helped to unveil a “35% by 2035” electrification target alongside Turkish counterpart Murat Kurum.

The pair are proposing a global goal to make electricity account for 35% of final energy demand by 2035, up 15 percentage points from today’s levels.

While stressing that the target is key to slowing emissions, Bowen also framed electrification as “the fastest way” to reduce exposure to global energy supplies.

“Accelerating the energy transition will ease shocks to our energy systems, better protect our economies and households from high costs, and help keep bending the curve of emissions downwards,” he said.

Kurum also unveiled a goal to halve global waste by 2035, with food waste alone accounting for a tenth of global emissions.

Earlier, in his opening address to the Bonn conference, Bowen warned similar crises will become more common as geopolitics becomes increasingly unstable.

“Crises like this, in a highly contested and uncertain geopolitical environment, will get more frequent, not less. More unpredictable, not less. Worse, not better,” he will say.

“And while we have all been dealing with this short-term crisis, the overriding importance of dealing with climate change has not abated. Temperature records have continued to tumble.”

Bowen’s appointment has sparked a domestic political controversy, with the Coalition framing him as a “part time minister” and demanding his resignation.

Last month, Environment Department officials revealed that the Commonwealth will spend nearly $150 million on the role, with 70 full time staff-equivalent allocated.

What they said: “Electrifying the global economy is one of our practical priorities for COP31, because it’s the fastest way to strengthen energy security, cut emissions and bring down costs,” Bowen said.