New demand goals for energy and climate resilience

Abstract

Current climate goals, insufficient to deliver net-zero emissions by 2050, overlook an underutilized lever of climate action: energy demand (1). Traditional energy goals tend to focus on energy supply—primary inputs harnessed from nature—rather than final energy, such as the electricity and fuels delivered to provide services including mobility and thermal comfort. The issue is not lack of interest in demand but the absence of operational, politically legible goals and simple metrics for final energy use and services and for the direct economic and social benefits that they provide. Yet demand is changing: Electrification of end uses (e.g., electric vehicles and heat pumps) is reshaping final energy demand, and electricity-intensive services (e.g., data centers) are boosting loads in some regions. Demand is no longer a passive scenario outcome but a policy variable to steer. We propose integrated demand-side goals to complement supply pledges and advance efficiency, sustainability, and equity by 2035.