China News Service, Antalya, November 11 (Wei Yuan, Wu Xinru) The 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is being held in Antalya, Turkey. On the morning of November 10, local time, the "Ecological Civilization and Beautiful China Practice" side event was held at the China Corner, hosted by the Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization Research Center and China News Service, and co-organized by the Environmental and Economic Policy Research Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and China News Network. This side event is the first time that China News Agency’s “News Living Room” has held a series of events in Türkiye.
Fatih Birol, Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), delivered a speech at the side event, focusing on the global electrification transformation. He pointed out that China has already taken the lead in this track and its role in the field of clean energy is undisputed.
The world is entering the era of electricity, and China has delivered outstanding results
In his speech, Birol reiterated his judgment two years ago: the world is entering the electric age. In his view, promoting electrification has multiple values. It not only benefits economic development and ensures energy security, but also helps combat climate change and improve air quality. He proposed the initiative, hoping to promote consensus among countries on electrification goals.
In this transformation process, Birol highly affirmed China's pioneering exploration.
He said that China has made significant progress in many areas: the development of electric vehicles, renewable energy, battery energy storage and other industries has achieved outstanding results, and the industrial chain advantages in hydropower, photovoltaic, wind power, energy storage, clean fuel and other fields have significant advantages.
During his visit to China in September 2026, Birol held discussions with Chinese government departments and visited Tsinghua University, universities and other fields. The vigorous pace of innovation in various fields of Chinese society left a deep impression on him. "China's role in the field of clean energy is undisputed, and China has pointed the way for the world."
The energy crisis accelerates transformation and three major trends reshape the global energy landscape
Based on the changes in the global energy market in the past eight or nine months, Birol summarized the three core trends of the current global energy transformation.
First, renewable energy maintains strong growth momentum. Renewable energy has continued to expand before, and recent energy pressure has further accelerated its pace of development, with the growth curve rising significantly.
Second, the electric vehicle market is expanding explosively. Except for the Chinese market, electric vehicle sales in other regions around the world increased by 60%. The electrification wave is no longer limited to European countries and China. More and more countries such as Australia, Brazil, Thailand, and Vietnam have joined this trend.
Third, there is a stronger push to improve energy efficiency. The combination of energy efficiency improvements and the development of renewable energy and electric vehicles gives him confidence in the implementation of global electrification goals.
Birol mentioned that global energy is under pressure, forcing many countries to press the electrification accelerator button, and more and more countries are actively embracing the electric power transformation route.
Call on all countries to build consensus and send clear transformation signals to the market
Birol called on representatives of nearly 200 countries and regions participating in the meeting in Antalya to reach a consensus on global electrification goals. He emphasized that sending the signal that "the future belongs to electricity" at the COP31 venue can deliver a clearer direction to global markets and investors.
He said that capital investment in clean energy is often based on the belief that the relevant tracks can bring stable and considerable business returns. Once all parties reach a consensus, market investors will be able to clarify the direction of capital investment.
