IEA chief calls Europe’s slow electrification a ‘major mistake’

International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol has warned that Europe's failure to electrify its economy faster since the 2022 energy crisis amounts to a "major mistake," leaving the continent dangerously exposed to volatile fossil fuel markets at a time of escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Energy Sovereignty Through Electrification

In an exclusive interview with Euronews published on July 10, Birol said the EU's electrification rate has stagnated at 23 percent over the past decade, lagging behind countries like Japan, South Korea, and China. "We have to electrify our energy, our economy as much as possible, which means more electric cars, more heat pumps, and more electrified industry," he said.euronews

Birol pointed to a striking gap between renewable energy generation and grid capacity: last year, 85 gigawatts of renewables were added to the European grid, but 600 gigawatts of renewable projects were abandoned because there was no grid infrastructure to deliver the power. "This is really an economic crime, if I may say so," Birol told Euronews.euronews

The IEA chief rejected calls to return to Russian gas, which the EU is set to formally ban in 2027, and dismissed suggestions that Europe has untapped domestic fossil fuel reserves. "If there were oil and gas in Europe, we would have already discovered many years ago," Birol said. He framed Europe's over-reliance on Moscow as both the cause of today's high electricity prices and the catalyst for a necessary shift toward energy independence.euronews

COP31 Electrification Push

Birol's remarks align with a broader global push on electrification. In June, COP31 president-designate Murat Kurum announced a voluntary target to raise electricity's share of global final energy demand from just over 20 percent to 35 percent by 2035. The proposal, part of Türkiye's "action agenda" for the Antalya climate summit later this year, aims to accelerate the transition away from direct fossil fuel use.clearbluemarkets+2

The Price Problem

Despite the strategic case for electrification, electricity remains two to three times more expensive than gas in many EU countries, creating a barrier to adoption. "They will not go for electricity because it is clean. They would go for electric because it's cheap," Birol said. The Financial Times News Corp ↘ 0.64% reported on July 11 that Birol characterized Europe's slow progress as a "major mistake," saying the EU should have moved faster to achieve energy independence following the 2022 gas crisis.ft+1

The European Commission is expected to publish its Electrification Action Plan this month, which would set ambitious targets for the bloc's energy consumption in transport, industry, and buildings. Political negotiations on revamping Europe's power grid infrastructure are set to begin after the summer, with the Irish Presidency of the EU Council hoping to seal a deal by year's end.euronews+1