All hail electrification. But let’s talk about the hard part.

Global electrification trends also tell the story. The world used 16.7 percent of its final energy—meaning the energy consumed by the end user—from electricity in 2000, and that share rose to 23.4 percent in 2025, according to the IEA.

China has had the largest change, and North America was among the smallest in that period, a difference largely attributable to levels of renewable energy use and EV adoption.

But this doesn’t mean electrification is inevitable, according to energy-systems researchers.

“I see today’s energy system more as a Rorschach test,” said David Victor, a professor of innovation and public policy at the University of California, San Diego.

By that, he means different people see different things. He acknowledged it’s possible to view the trilemma as becoming aligned, but he still sees many obstacles.

For example, he doesn’t expect to see a rapid shift to electrification for heavy trucks, maritime transport and aircraft. He also thinks trade barriers may hinder electrification, with countries seeing benefits of producing goods at home rather than relying on imports such as Chinese solar panels.

“The trade-offs are inescapable,” he said.

Some of the trade-offs are political, with elected officials and entrenched industries seeking to slow electrification, said Emily Grubert, an energy systems researcher at the University of Notre Dame.

“I think [Birol is] basically correct, but the reason we’re not seeing transition happening rapidly and naturally is that the ‘we’ he’s referring to is not the ‘we’ that actually makes the decisions,” she said in an email.

Instead, some decision-makers are prioritizing the profits of certain industries, which often means favoring fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil, and slowing the transition to cleaner sources.

Grubert could be describing many countries in which fossil fuel industries hold political sway, including the United States.

Kenneth Medlock III, senior director for the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, said it’s vital to fully evaluate the costs and benefits of electrification.