24 January 2023

Tara Connolly

Tara has over ten years of experience in EU energy policy and energy transition campaigning. She studied European Studies at Trinity College Dublin and Sustainable Development at the Technological University of Dublin.

She worked for Greenpeace’s European Unit for over seven years as EU Energy Policy Assistant, Advisor, and finally, EU Energy Policy Director before joining Friends of the Earth Europe as a Gas Campaigner and later Global Witness as a senior EU Gas Campaigner. She has served on the board of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and the Sustainable Water Network, Ireland’s network of NGOs working for water protection. She is fluent in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Irish.

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Electrification done right: civil society conditions for the “35 by 35” target Open letter to the COP31 Presidencies

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22 September 2026

COP31 President-Designate Murat Kurum will unveil the Presidency’s flagship electrification pledge: to increase electricity’s share of global final energy consumption to 35% by 2035. As a campaign coalition advocating for a renewables-based energy system in Europe, Beyond Fossil Fuels welcomes the Turkish COP31 Presidency’s emphasis on electrification. A step change in the pace of transition is undoubtedly needed at this critical moment. However, we stress that without clear guardrails, the 35-by-35 pledge risks becoming a Trojan horse for expanding fossil fuel use under the guise of climate action, and a missed opportunity for genuine progress.