TOKYO/BANGKOK -- Solar panels and wind turbines have become the most visible symbols of the shift from fossil fuels as the world strives to keep climate change in check. But cleaner electricity is only half the challenge.

From the cars people drive to the way factories make goods, much of the energy the world consumes still comes directly from the fossil fuels driving global warming.

Turkey, president of the United Nations' COP31 climate change conference beginning Monday, says the "next logical step" is accelerating electrification. It has set a voluntary target for the summit of increasing electricity's share of final energy consumption -- the amount consumed by end users -- from 23% to 35% by 2035.

Asia, which accounts for half of global carbon dioxide emissions, sits at the heart of this electrification drive. Beyond climate change, this year's energy crisis -- the second this decade -- stemming from the U.S.-Israel war with Iran has added impetus as the economic and business case for electrification strengthens.

The tech underpinning electrification -- chips, batteries, power electronics, motors and sensors -- also sits at the heart of artificial intelligence, robotics and other information technologies. Combining them promises to bring down manufacturing costs by between 40% and 70%, according to the energy think tank Ember, while maximizing the use of renewables and batteries.

Electrification also promises far greater efficiency. Battery electric vehicles typically use 70% to 80% less energy per kilometer than comparable internal combustion engine vehicles as they generate much less waste heat, according to the International Energy Agency. In factories, technologies such as induction and infrared can offer manufacturers more precise control over heat, in some cases allowing them to shorten production lines and improve working conditions.

Electricity provides 37% of actually useful energy, according to the IEA. Economic activities accounting for 47% of gross domestic product were powered by electricity.

Although countries such as India and Japan have strengths in electrification technology, China has emerged as the undisputed leader. Its exports of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and EVs this year will cut annual emissions outside its borders by the same amount as Brazil's annual total from fossil fuels, estimates the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

China's technological dominance and domestic rollout has seen analysts dub it the first "electrostate" -- in contrast to the more familiar petrostate. The country's National Energy Administration expects it to reach an electrification rate of 35% by 2030 as homes turn to heat pumps, EVs make up more of the cars on the road and grid upgrade spending rises 39% from the past five-year average to reach an estimated 1 trillion yuan ($150 billion) per year.

In its annual report on climate change published ahead of COP31, Beijing highlighted its "growing leadership" in global climate governance which represented stronger language than last year.

Elsewhere in Asia, prospects are weaker. In a recent electrification competitiveness index compiled by the We Mean Business Coalition climate and energy group, Indonesia and the Philippines landed in the "early-stage adoption" segment, while South Korea was described as at "risk of stalling." India narrowly ranked as having "potential for take-off," while China was the only Asian nation assessed that was described as having a "solid foundation." Japan and Thailand, at opposite ends of Asia's electrification spectrum, highlight the shared and differing challenges for the region's varied economies.

The former will need to tackle harder-to-electrify parts of the economy, while the latter shows how weak growth and legacy fossil-fuel systems can hold back progress.

's electrification rate is the highest among Asian countries tracked by the IEA and among the highest globally. Electrification of buildings has helped push that rate up, but the challenge now is to confront harder industrial applications and make greater progress in transportation.

The residential sector saw its electrification rate rise from just under 40% in 1990 to 55%. But that reflects less a grand government-led electrification strategy than decades of mundane household decisions. As incomes rose, electric appliances became ubiquitous, replacing equipment that burned fossil fuels.

Foremost has been air conditioning, which can also provide heat, with uptake buoyed by a progressively stronger energy efficiency program that began in the late 1990s. The shift was also easier because Japanese homes typically do not rely on the gas-fired central heating systems common in parts of Europe.

A similar shift began in water heating in the 2000s. Hot water accounts for about a quarter of household energy consumption, due to the cultural preference for baths over showers, making it one of the biggest sources.

"The use of heat pump water heaters such as EcoCute has increased, so there has been a gradual shift in household heat demand toward electricity," said Kenichiro Nishio, senior research manager at the Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI).

Yet the relatively painless electrification is harder to replicate elsewhere. Industry, accounting for the biggest portion of the country's final energy consumption at just under 30%, is a case in point: Its electrification rate has only risen 2.3 percentage points since 1990, and stood at only 36.8% in 2024.

Electrification has made inroads into certain processes. In the steel industry, which accounts for 13% of Japan's CO2 emissions, companies like Nippon Steel and JFE Steel are investing billions of dollars to turn their blast furnaces into electric furnaces. In addition, industrial processes like drying and sterilization in other sectors can be done with heat pumps, experts say.

See also Singapore's climate tech startups ride government's green energy ambitions But heat pumps are generally suited to low- and medium-temperature applications of up to around 200 C.

Even where the technology can be used, switching is not as simple as replacing one piece of equipment with another. Factories have decades of experience operating gas boilers and steam systems, but often lack the expertise in integrating heat pumps. Outside support is also underdeveloped.

"You have to change the energy supply in a way that is closely integrated with the production line," said Akira Yamamoto, senior manager for electrification and heat at the Renewable Energy Institute (REI).

"Heat pump manufacturers can't invest in developing services unless there is demand," he added. "But factories don't necessarily think they need to make the switch, so suppliers find it difficult to invest as well." The government has begun taking steps, with the Revised Energy Conservation Act of 2023 requiring large-scale energy consumers to submit mid- to long-term plans for non-fossil energy transition. Yet experts said the impetus for electrification has been weak, despite the country budgeting more than 10 trillion yen ($63 billion) for gasoline subsidies since 2022.

This is exemplified by transportation, the second-largest energy consuming sector and the least electrified. While EV sales have ramped up globally this decade, with an extra boost coming from the Middle East conflict, in Japan, gasoline subsidies have given consumers little incentive to shift. The government is planning to wind down that support due to the cost, but it is also contemplating ending EV subsidies.

The REI is calling for Japan to endorse the 35% target. It said that setting "heat pump deployment targets and introducing incentives to achieve them" would stimulate demand and increase predictability for companies investing in the technology. Still, the benefits of electric technologies may themselves encourage further adoption.

"Cutting greenhouse gas emissions, improving energy efficiency and reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels are important, but I think it is also essential to look at how electrification can improve industrial processes themselves," Nishio said.

's low electrification rate reflects a predominantly fossil-fuel vehicle fleet, entrenched gas use across sectors and slow growth.

"We hope that EVs could be the main driver of electrification in Thailand," said Wattanapong Kurovat, director general of the Energy Policy and Planning Office at the Ministry of Energy.

Electrified vehicle sales are surging. Battery electric vehicles and hybrid models of all kinds accounted for 53% of Thai auto sales in the first half of 2026, according to PwC. The country had the highest share and volume among major ASEAN economies.

Maintaining that momentum could be helped by the presence of manufacturing facilities of Chinese EV brands, which were drawn to Thailand by its large existing auto industry and are known for their affordable vehicles.

In the wake of the Iran war, the Thai government moved ahead with 200 billion baht ($6 billion) in new borrowing to fund measures including grid upgrades. Separately in Bangkok, the transport authority will replace gas and diesel buses with 1,520 electric counterparts, while the region's electricity company will cover 25% of the cost for small and medium-size enterprises to replace existing fuel-based heating equipment with heat pumps.

In the country's large cement industry, a few capital-rich conglomerates with long investment horizons -- such as Siam Cement Group, Thailand's largest cement maker -- are leading a shift away from use of gas, which still dominates. This has made it one of the fastest sectors to electrify, according to Krit Sitathani, Kasikorn Bank's sustainability research lead, but only compared with slow progress elsewhere.

"A lot of them are just swapping from gas to electric when there's end of life," Krit said.

Electricity only accounts for 13% of the sector's final energy consumption. Substantial CO2 pricing, tax reforms and infrastructure upgrades are needed to speed up progress, according to a Thai-German study published in May.

And within transportation, most Thai vehicles still have internal combustion engines. Electricity accounted for just 0.3% of transport-sector consumption in the January-July period, Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency data showed.

EV adoption could be held back as Thailand seeks to protect its combustion-engine industry through a 35% duty on imported EVs. Its target for zero-emission vehicles to comprise at least 30% of domestic vehicle production by 2030 looks uncertain.

"I actually think the government policy should be reviewed a little bit. ... We'll maybe extend the target," Wattanapong said, noting wider concerns about overreliance on Chinese electrification tech. "We are very concerned about that. ... We think this would be a very big problem in the future." An electric vehicle from Chinese brand Xpeng at the Bangkok International Motor Show on March 23. The influx of Chinese EVs has caused concern in Thailand even as the country eyes the electrification of road transport.

Other obstacles include limited charging infrastructure outside cities and few electric options for Thais' preferred four-wheel drive cars, Krit said. Natural gas use is also deeply entrenched in a number of sectors.

"Thailand is, in some ways, a legacy economy," said Jack Kneeland, partner at Vector Energy Advisory, a Southeast Asia-focused consultancy.

Thailand's 1980s-90s industrial and economic boom, powered by domestic gas, locked in heating based on the fuel. Kneeland contrasted this with Vietnam, where stronger recent growth has driven adoption of electric heat. Still, the fuel shock has given fresh impetus to plans for the energy transition.

"It is imperative that we accelerate our energy transition," Energy Minister Akanat Promphan told an energy industry conference in Bangkok on Oct. 22, calling it essential to "fuel industrial growth and drive the economy." A new Power Development Plan proposed in September to boost renewables, with significant private sector support, brings challenges around grid upgrades to handle the variable energy sources. The latest PDP draft estimates upgrades will cost 360 billion to 700 billion baht by 2050, depending on renewables' eventual Targets on energy efficiency and renewables can help electrification, said Dinita Setyawati, external affairs and strategic impact lead at Ember.

"Largely the government is focusing on installation of renewable energy, but I think we also need an effective industrial policy, maybe incentivize these industries to use more heat pumps," she said. "The industrial space is being largely overlooked by the government. The government kind of sees it that industry can take care of itself."