Climate action

ICC Principles for the Age of Electrification

9 November 2026

Clean power is growing fast, but cheap renewables alone won’t deliver the energy transition. Grids, efficiency, flexibility, investment and skills must now keep up as demand for electricity surges. ICC’s 10 Principles for the Age of Electrification provide a business perspective on the age of electrification. It sets out how governments can create the conditions for secure, affordable and competitive energy systems that strengthen economies and cut emissions.

Download the ICC Principle for the Age of Electrification Policy brief

Go directly to:

Download

The past decade has seen remarkable progress, with renewable energy capacity breaking records year after year, clean energy investment growing and countries committing to tripling renewables and doubling the rate of energy efficiency improvement by 2030.

But the focus has shifted. Clean energy generation is no longer enough on its own. Many of the climate solutions we need most, from renewable power and energy efficiency to electrifying transport, heating and industry must now be deployed at much greater scale. Governments must now ensure that the energy system as a whole – grids, storage, markets and the investment behind them – can keep pace as electrification accelerates. Global business firmly supports the ambition – set out by the incoming COP31 Presidency and several countries – to accelerate electrification by 2035, by raising electricity’s share of global final energy consumption from just over 20% to approximately 35%.

The energy system must now do more than run on clean power. It must keep supply secure, staying reliable when renewable output is low and resilient to price shocks and concentrated supply chains. It must keep electricity affordable enough that businesses and households choose to switch. And it must keep industry competitive rather than pushing it, and its emissions, elsewhere.

10 principles for a secure, affordable and competitive energy transition

Governments must pursue four objectives together: decarbonisation, energy security, affordability and competitiveness. Progress should be judged not only by capacity installed, but by emissions reduced, energy productivity gained and the reliability and affordability of the system delivered.

To help governments design and implement effective electrification policies that translate into economic and climate opportunities, ICC proposes 10 principles:

Optimise the whole energy system: Adopt integrated energy systems and transition planning that minimises total system costs while strengthening reliability, efficiency and resilience.
Put energy efficiency at the heart of the transition: Prioritise energy efficiency as a strategic resource to reduce costs, emissions and make better use of existing energy infrastructure.
Build infrastructure in parallel with demand: Accelerate grid expansion, modernisation and digitalisation to ensure infrastructure keeps pace with growing electricity demand.
Value reliability and flexibility and make demand part of the solution: Reward system flexibility and reliability while enabling consumers and businesses to actively participate in balancing electricity supply and demand.
Keep electricity affordable enough to electrify: Design electricity pricing and tariff structures that make electrification economically attractive for households and businesses.
Decarbonise industry — do not simply relocate it: Align energy, climate, industrial and trade policies to reduce global emissions while preserving industrial competitiveness and preventing carbon leakage.
Make the transition investable: Establish predictable regulatory frameworks and effective risk-sharing mechanisms to mobilise private investment at scale, in particular in emerging and developing economies.
Remain technology-open and outcome-focused: Encourage innovation and competition across low-carbon technologies while prioritising measurable outcomes in emissions, affordability and system performance.
Build resilience through diversification and open markets: Strengthen energy security through diversified supply chains, international cooperation, circularity and open trade.
Build the capabilities and know-how the energy transition requires: Invest in technical skills, workforce development and industry-academia collaboration to deliver and sustain the energy transition.

Together, these principles offer a practical framework for an energy transition that is secure, affordable and competitive, and that business can invest in at the scale and speed required.ICC is committed to securing what business need at the Conference of the Parties (COP) climate negotiations. Learn more about our Opportunity of a Lifetime climate campaign and how to get involved.