Fostering Effective Energy Transition

The World Economic Forum's report presents the Energy Transition Index (ETI), which evaluates 114 countries based on system performance and transition readiness. The report finds that while over 80% of countries improved their energy systems between 2013 and 2018, progress in environmental sustainability remains the slowest. It identifies four categories of countries—Leading, Leapfrog, Emerging, and those with Potential Challenges—and argues that removing fossil fuel subsidies and improving energy intensity are key levers for systemic improvement. The report advocates for country-specific roadmaps and public-private collaboration to achieve an inclusive and sustainable energy future.

• Between 2013 and 2018, more than 80% of the 114 countries assessed improved their energy systems, though the pace of progress is insufficient to resolve global challenges.
• Environmental sustainability is the lowest-performing dimension of the energy triangle. Carbon intensity remained flat, and the global energy productivity improvement rate of 1.8% per annum is below the 3% threshold required to meet the Paris climate change agreement.
• Security and access show the widest performance gap between the highest and lowest-performing countries. While most countries without universal electricity access made progress, over one billion people globally still lack access.
• Transition readiness—comprising capital, regulation, institutions, infrastructure, human capital, and system structure—is a strong predictor of system performance. Countries with the highest readiness scores typically lead the performance rankings.
• The removal of fossil fuel subsidies and the reduction of energy intensity act as synergistic levers; countries making progress in these areas showed proportionately greater improvements across all other dimensions of the energy triangle.
• Countries follow distinct transition paths and are categorized into four groups: Leading (high performance and readiness), Leapfrog (low performance but high readiness), Emerging (low performance and readiness), and Countries with Potential Challenges (high performance but low readiness).
• Energy importing economies generally exhibit higher transition readiness and benefited more from the lower energy prices observed between 2013 and 2018.

APA

World Economic Forum (2018). Fostering Effective Energy Transition. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Fostering_Effective_Energy_Transition_report_2018.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Fostering Effective Energy Transition. 2018. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Fostering_Effective_Energy_Transition_report_2018.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Fostering Effective Energy Transition |date=March 2018 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Fostering_Effective_Energy_Transition_report_2018.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2018fostering, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Fostering Effective Energy Transition}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2018}, month = mar, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Fostering_Effective_Energy_Transition_report_2018.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }