The World Energy Trilemma Index presents a comparative ranking of the energy systems of 127 countries, estimating their performance across three dimensions: Energy Security, Energy Equity, and Environmental Sustainability. The Index, at its 11th edition, is the result of a collaboration between Marsh McLennan, Oliver Wyman, and the World Energy Council.
Energy Security is not just a measure of natural resource endowment. Countries with a strong performance in this dimension have been able to increase the resilience of their energy systems by diversifying their energy mix, collaborating with neighboring countries, and preparing for the challenges brought by decentralization, digitalization, decarbonization, and demand disruption.
Energy Equity ranks have traditionally been dominated by hydrocarbon-rich countries. This monopoly, however, is challenged by a Northwestern European cluster benefitting from sustained investments in renewables and the increasing integration of energy systems and networks. Despite significant efforts being made towards achieving the United Nations’ seventh Sustainable Development Goal (SDG7), more than 700 million people globally still lack access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy.
Environmental Sustainability of energy systems is critical to meet the target set by the 2015 Paris Agreement to contain global warming below 2 °C. Substantial resources have been committed to decarbonize energy generation, and in 2020 renewables accounted for 82% of global net capacity expansion. Many countries, however, have been struggling to make sustained progress in Environmental Sustainability, as efforts to decarbonize have been partly counterbalanced by a rapid increase in energy consumption.
As in previous years, the performance ranking continues to be dominated by OECD members. The top 3 countries are Sweden, Switzerland, and Denmark. European countries occupy most of the top 10 positions, with the exceptions of Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. As in the 2020 edition of the Trilemma, countries with similar scores were assigned tied ranks.
This is the second edition of the World Energy Trilemma Index since the outbreak of COVID-19. The pandemic has exacerbated preexisting societal and economic vulnerabilities, and its reverberations on energy systems started to become apparent. Such changes, however, are not yet fully reflected in this year’s scores due to lags in data reporting.
The complete list of rankings, individual country and regional profiles, and changes in key metrics can be accessed through the Trilemma interactive online tool.
Please download the full report for more comprehensive analyses of historical trends in each dimension as well as information on our methodology.
