6 ways to align the energy transition with economic growth

The World Economic Forum identifies six core policies—integrated frameworks, carbon pricing, smart subsidies, supportive innovation, energy efficiency, and electricity market redesign—to align the energy transition with economic growth. The briefing argues that these proven tools can leverage private capital and existing technologies to meet 2-degree Celsius goals by 2030, provided governments move beyond goals to clear, consistent national and subnational implementation.

• The World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Energy identified six core policies to drive the energy transition: integrated policy frameworks to provide long-term vision and investor certainty; carbon pricing via taxes or cap-and-trade to provide a stable price signal; the elimination of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies in favor of targeted, market-based clean energy support; increased R&D funding and public tenders for innovation; mandates and standards for energy efficiency; and the redesign of electricity markets to accommodate cost-effective generation and storage.
• The economic opportunity associated with the energy transition is estimated to exceed $1 trillion per year globally. In 2017, global annual investment in clean energy activity amounted to more than $333 billion.
• Existing technologies and business models, if paired with proven policies, are capable of aligning the world with the 2 degrees Celsius goal by 2030. This is supported by the fact that average prices for solar and wind have decreased by 72% and 47% respectively over the last eight years.
• Energy efficiency represents a significant economic opportunity; specifically, direct investment in efficiency in the US alone was once estimated to offer a 100% return on $500 billion.

APA

Coleman, J. K. K. (2018). 6 ways to align the energy transition with economic growth. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/6-ways-to-align-energy-transition-and-economic-growth/

Chicago

Coleman, Jules Kortenhorst, Kieran. 6 ways to align the energy transition with economic growth. World Economic Forum, 2018. https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/6-ways-to-align-energy-transition-and-economic-growth/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Coleman |first1=Jules Kortenhorst, Kieran |title=6 ways to align the energy transition with economic growth |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=7 March 2018 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/6-ways-to-align-energy-transition-and-economic-growth/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{coleman2018ways, author = {Coleman, Jules Kortenhorst, Kieran}, title = {{6 ways to align the energy transition with economic growth}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2018}, month = mar, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/6-ways-to-align-energy-transition-and-economic-growth/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }