The 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was held in Antalya, Turkey, from November 9 to 20, 2026.
The second day of the conference focused on the theme of "Energy and Transport," with discussions centered on energy security, electrification, grid infrastructure, energy efficiency and sustainable transport.
During the event, the "35 by 35" global electrification pledge promoted by Turkey drew attention, proposing to raise electricity's share of global final energy consumption from about 23% at present to 35% by 2035, in order to accelerate the pace of global energy electrification. Against this backdrop, how to ensure the safe and stable operation of power systems has become an important issue that the energy transition must confront.
Eddie Rich, Chief Executive Officer of the International Hydropower Association (IHA), told reporters during COP31 that sustainable hydropower and pumped storage are important pillars of the energy transition. The role of hydropower lies not only in providing clean electricity, but also in safeguarding the reliability of power supply, energy security and affordability.
Rich pointed out that hydropower remains the world's largest source of renewable power generation, but its development pace has been relatively slow. One important reason is that hydropower undertakes system regulation and backup functions beyond power generation, yet existing electricity market mechanisms have not fully reflected these values. Hydropower projects usually require the construction of large-scale infrastructure, with high upfront capital investment, which also increases the difficulty of project development.
Rich believes that promoting hydropower development requires not only technological innovation, but also innovation in policies and market mechanisms, so that through reasonable incentive mechanisms, the long-term value that hydropower delivers to the power system can be rewarded accordingly.
Regarding efforts to advance global electrification during COP31, Rich expressed his expectations. He believes that accelerating electrification is an important direction for driving the energy transition.
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