‘I spend less, that’s all that matters’: life in the world’s most electrified countries

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Owning an electric car, driving an electric motorbike taxi, riding scooters – we speak to people in Oslo, Kigali and Shanghai about their everyday routinesThe race to…

Owning an electric car, driving an electric motorbike taxi, riding scooters – we speak to people in Oslo, Kigali and Shanghai about their everyday routines

The race to electrification has emerged as a key theme of this year’s UN climate summit: increasing the use of electricity – particularly from clean sources – has the potential to improve daily life for people around the world.

The summit’s co-hosts are now trying to get countries to promise to increase their electricity use to 35% of all energy used by 2035. The global figure currently stands at 23%, but some countries are already striding ahead. As 100,000 delegates, negotiators and world leaders thrash out the details in Antalya, Turkey, the Guardian spoke to three people in Norway, Rwanda and China to find out what life looks like in more highly electrified countries.

Norway is a world leader in the race to 100% electrification. In September, a record 98.81% of new cars sold were electric, and hydropower produces 90% of all electricity. But with rapidly rising energy demands, including from new datacentres, authorities warn that the country could soon face a power deficit and higher energy prices.

Unni Berge, 47, lives in Oslo with her husband and two teenage sons and works as the head of communications at the Norwegian EV Association. She describes how electricity features in a typical day:

“I use electricity in my three-bedroom flat and I have district heating [where heat is transported around a local network from a centralised source rather than individual boilers to heat homes and buildings]. For electricity we are connected to the Norwegian central grid, which is mainly hydropower.

“I live in a rather energy-efficient flat, so our electricity bills are comparatively low. In October, we spent 730 Norwegian kroner [£57] on electricity for our apartment, and in September it was 500 kroner.

“I go to work by bus. Almost all the buses in Oslo are fully electric.

“I mostly use my electric car on weekends.

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