Fostering Effective Energy Transition

The 2019 Energy Transition Index (ETI) reveals a global slowdown in energy transition, with the lowest year-on-year increase in average scores over the last five years. While Western and Northern European countries like Sweden, Switzerland, and Norway lead in both system performance and transition readiness, significant gaps persist in Sub-Saharan Africa and among fossil-fuel-dependent economies. The report emphasizes that an effective transition requires balancing the 'energy triangle'—economic development and growth, energy security and access, and environmental sustainability—while addressing the systemic complexities of the energy-economy, energy-technology, and energy-society interactions.

• The global pace of energy transition has decelerated, with the year-on-year increase in the global average aggregate ETI score being the lowest of the last five years.
• Sweden, Switzerland, and Norway are the top three ranked countries in the ETI, with the top 10 all being from Western and Northern Europe.
• Environmental sustainability is the lowest-scoring and slowest-improving dimension of the energy triangle globally, reflecting a persistent path dependency of economic growth on energy consumption.
• Global energy access has improved significantly, with the number of people lacking electricity falling below 1 billion for the first time, though progress in Sub-Saharan Africa remains slow.
• Advanced Economies face a specific challenge in balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability, as the rate of energy intensity improvement slowed in 2017.
• In Emerging and Developing Asia, the primary challenge is balancing economic growth and rising energy demand with environmental sustainability, with coal maintaining a significant share of the energy mix.
• The Latin America and Caribbean region achieves the highest environmental sustainability scores among peer groups due to high renewable energy shares, particularly hydropower.
• The Middle East and North Africa region has the world's highest outdoor air pollution (PM2.5) and highest carbon intensity, driven by a primary energy supply that is 92% oil and gas.
• There is a significant mismatch between transition readiness and global emissions; the 10 most ready countries account for only 2.6% of global annual emissions, while 65% of emissions come from countries with readiness scores of 55% or less.
• Energy transition is hindered by 'lock-ins' across three systems: technological (high fixed costs of installed base), institutional (risk-averse frameworks), and behavioural (established lifestyle preferences).
• Rising household electricity prices are creating equity and affordability concerns, contributing to social unrest such as the Yellow Vest protests in France.

APA

World Economic Forum (2019). Fostering Effective Energy Transition. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Fostering_Effective_Energy_Transition_2019.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Fostering Effective Energy Transition. 2019. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Fostering_Effective_Energy_Transition_2019.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Fostering Effective Energy Transition |date=March 2019 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Fostering_Effective_Energy_Transition_2019.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2019fostering, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Fostering Effective Energy Transition}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2019}, month = mar, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Fostering_Effective_Energy_Transition_2019.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }