Three Energy Demand Goals for Climate Action and Sustainable Development
Three Energy Demand Goals for Climate Action and Sustainable Development
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Climate policy has focused mainly on energy supply. Demand is largely overlooked. We propose three demand-side goals for 2035 to make energy services more efficient, more affordable, more resilient, more equitable.
Why this matters
Why this matters
A missing piece in climate policy
Most current climate goals focus on how energy is produced. But demand is the ultimate driver of the energy system: how much energy people use, for what purposes, and under what conditions. Demand is not just a passive outcome to forecast. It is a policy variable that can be shaped through efficiency, electrification, infrastructure behavior, and public policy.
This matters because the world faces two problems at once. More than 700 million people still lack electricity access, and more than 2 billion still lack clean cooking. At the same time, a small global elite consumes far more energy than is needed for a decent life. The challenge is not only to decarbonize energy supply, but to steer energy demand toward human wellbeing and a safer planet.
efficiency
USE LESS ENERGY PER UNIT OF VALUE
Improve final energy intensity at 4%/yr through 2035.
efficiency
USE LESS ENERGY PER UNIT OF VALUE
Improve final energy intensity at 4%/yr through 2035.
electrification
INCREASE THE SHARE OF ELECTRICITY IN FINAL ENERGY
Grow electricity’s share of final energy through 2035.
electrification
INCREASE THE SHARE OF ELECTRICITY IN FINAL ENERGY
Grow electricity’s share of final energy through 2035.
fairness
DISCOURAGE EXTREME CONSUMPTION
Triple fiscal contributions discouraging overconsumption and funding access, security and investment.
fairness
DISCOURAGE EXTREME CONSUMPTION
Triple fiscal contributions discouraging overconsumption and funding access, security and investment.
What these goals are trying to achieve
What these goals are trying to achieve
The aim is not simply to reduce energy use in the abstract. The aim is to secure decent, affordable, and clean energy services for all, while limiting forms of demand that are excessive, unequal, and environmentally damaging. These goals connect climate mitigation with human wellbeing, equity, affordability, and resilience.
Key numbers
Key numbers
Why the distribution of energy use matters
HIGH ENERGY MINORITIES
HIGH ENERGY MINORITIES
LOW ENERGY MAJORITIES
LOW ENERGY MAJORITIES
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A practical agenda for the next decade
A practical agenda for the next decade
These three goals are designed to complement existing climate targets, not replace them. Together, they can help make clean energy expansion more effective, reduce costs, improve energy security, and align climate action with social justice and decent living standards.
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