Access the complete World Energy Trilemma Index 2019 results, national profiles and the interactive Trilemma Index tool to learn more about countries’ Trilemma performance and what it takes to build a sustainable energy system.
The energy sector is undergoing an unprecedented transition, moving away from a system based on carbon intensive fossil fuels to one based on low carbon, renewable energy and driven by the twin imperatives of mitigating climate change and generating economic prosperity. The pace of change and the effectiveness of individual governments to develop and implement policies to deliver energy sustainability varies across countries and geographies.
The World Energy Trilemma Index 2019, developed in partnership with the World Energy Council, provides an objective rating of national energy system performance across three dimensions: Energy Security, Energy Equity and the Environmental Sustainability of Energy Systems.
The methodology for the Trilemma Index was improved and updated for 2019*. The new methodology has been applied retroactively to historical data, enabling the Trilemma performance of individual countries to be tracked back to 2000 for the first time. The new time-series analysis provides insights into a country’s historical trends, challenges and opportunities for improvements in meeting energy goals now and in the future.
Key findings:
- 10 countries achieve the top AAA balance grade, representing top quartile performance in every dimension
- There has been a general trend of improving energy policy performance, with 119 countries having improved their overall Trilemma scores over the 20-year period – while only 9 countries have seen their overall performance decline
- The historic analysis shows that the “Trilemma” of balancing the differing policy priorities remains relevant with no country having consistently improved in each dimension every year since 2000
- The rate of improvement in overall Trilemma performance increases as the transition progresses – globally, performance in all three dimensions are advancing and accelerating
* This new methodology means it is not possible to directly compare a country’s performance in 2019 with its performance in earlier publications.
