91% of Executives Say Electrification Improves Energy Security

A global survey of business executives across 18 countries found 91% believe electrification would improve energy security, with 79% saying recent geopolitical instability has made their own shift to electrification more urgent.

The polling, conducted in late April while the Strait of Hormuz remained closed, surveyed executives at medium-sized and large organisations in Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Ninety percent of respondents expect their operations to be electrified by 2035. The same share said transitioning to a renewables-based electricity system in their country would boost economic growth. Eighty-eight percent said electrifying their operations would make their business more competitive.

The survey was commissioned by E3G, the We Mean Business Coalition and the Global Renewables Alliance. The findings were published in a report titled "Powering Up: Business Perspectives on Electrification."

The report warns that countries failing to electrify risk losing out to more electrified economies. Sixty-two percent of executives said they would consider moving operations if their government did not offer sufficient support for electrification.

Seventy-two percent of those surveyed said government policies are lagging behind the business push. The report follows an International Energy Agency analysis that found repeated energy shocks are reshaping government and company investment priorities. The Turkish and Australian COP31 hosts, along with the International Renewables Agency, have called for a stronger global push to run vehicles, industry and buildings on electricity rather than fossil fuels.

G7 leaders are meeting in Evian this week amid concern over economic resilience and global vulnerabilities.