Energy
Ranked: Countries with the Most Sustainable Energy Policies
Ranked: Countries With Most Sustainable Energy Policies
The sourcing and distribution of energy is one of the most pressing issues of our time.
Just under one billion people still lack basic access to electricity, and many more connect to the grid through improvised wiring or live through frequent blackouts. On the flip side of the socioeconomic spectrum, a growing chorus of voices is pressuring governments and corporations to power the global economy in a more sustainable way.
Today’s visualization โ using data from the World Energy Council (WEC) โ ranks countries based on their mix of policies for tackling issues like energy security and environmental sustainability.
The Energy Trilemma Index
According to WEC, there are three primary policy areas that form the “trilemma”:
1. Energy Security
A nationโs capacity to meet current and future energy demand reliably, and bounce back swiftly from system shocks with minimal disruption to supply. This dimension covers the effectiveness of management of domestic and external energy sources, as well as the reliability and resilience of energy infrastructure.
2. Energy Equity
A countryโs ability to provide universal access to reliable, affordable, and abundant energy for domestic and commercial use. This dimension captures basic access to electricity and clean cooking fuels and technologies, access to prosperity-enabling levels of energy consumption, and affordability of electricity, gas, and fuel.
3. Environmental Sustainability
The transition of a countryโs energy system towards mitigating and avoiding environmental harm and climate change impacts. This dimension focuses on productivity and efficiency of generation, transmission and distribution, decarbonization, and air quality.
Using the dimensions above, a score out of 100 is generated. Here’s a complete ranking that shows which countries have the most sustainable energy policies:
Rank | Country | Trilemma Score | Letter Grade* |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ๐จ๐ญ Switzerland | 85.8 | AAA |
2 | ๐ธ๐ช Sweden | 85.2 | AAA |
3 | ๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark | 84.7 | AAA |
4 | ๐ฌ๐ง United Kingdom | 81.5 | AAA |
5 | ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland | 81.1 | AAA |
6 | ๐ซ๐ท France | 80.8 | AAA |
7 | ๐ฆ๐น Austria | 80.7 | AAA |
8 | ๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg | 80.4 | BAA |
9 | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | 79.4 | AAA |
10 | ๐ณ๐ฟ New Zealand | 79.4 | AAA |
11 | ๐ณ๐ด Norway | 79.3 | CAA |
12 | ๐ธ๐ฎ Slovenia | 79.2 | AAA |
13 | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | 78.0 | AAC |
14 | ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | 77.8 | BAB |
15 | ๐บ๐ธ United States | 77.5 | AAB |
16 | ๐จ๐ฟ Czech Republic | 77.4 | AAB |
17 | ๐บ๐พ Uruguay | 77.2 | ABA |
18 | ๐ช๐ธ Spain | 77.0 | BAA |
19 | ๐ญ๐บ Hungary | 76.8 | AAB |
20 | ๐ฎ๐น Italy | 76.8 | BAA |
21 | ๐ฎ๐ธ Iceland | 76.2 | BAB |
22 | ๐ฑ๐ป Latvia | 76.1 | ABA |
23 | ๐ธ๐ฐ Slovakia | 75.6 | ABA |
24 | ๐ง๐ช Belgium | 75.2 | BAA |
25 | ๐ฎ๐ช Ireland | 75.2 | CAA |
26 | ๐ท๐ด Romania | 75.1 | ABA |
27 | ๐ญ๐ท Croatia | 74.9 | ABA |
28 | ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | 74.7 | BAB |
29 | ๐ต๐น Portugal | 74.0 | BBB |
30 | ๐ช๐ช Estonia | 73.8 | BAB |
31 | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan | 73.8 | CAB |
32 | ๐ฎ๐ฑ Israel | 73.3 | CAB |
33 | ๐ฒ๐น Malta | 72.9 | DAA |
34 | ๐ญ๐ฐ Hong Kong (China) | 72.5 | DAB |
35 | ๐ฆ๐ท Argentina | 72.4 | BAB |
36 | ๐ฑ๐น Lithuania | 72.4 | CBA |
37 | ๐ฐ๐ท South Korea | 71.7 | BAC |
38 | ๐จ๐ท Costa Rica | 71.6 | CBA |
39 | ๐ง๐ท Brazil | 71.6 | ABA |
40 | ๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico | 71.3 | ABB |
41 | ๐ง๐ฌ Bulgaria | 71.3 | BBB |
42 | ๐ท๐บ Russia | 71.2 | AAC |
43 | ๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore | 71.2 | DAB |
44 | ๐ป๐ช Venezuela | 70.3 | ABB |
45 | ๐ช๐จ Ecuador | 69.6 | ABB |
46 | ๐ต๐ฆ Panama | 69.5 | CBA |
47 | ๐ฌ๐ท Greece | 69.5 | CBA |
48 | ๐จ๐ฑ Chile | 69.4 | BBB |
49 | ๐จ๐ด Colombia | 69.3 | BCA |
50 | ๐ฒ๐บ Mauritius | 69.0 | CBB |
51 | ๐ฒ๐พ Malaysia | 68.5 | BBC |
52 | ๐ฆ๐ช U.A.E. | 68.3 | BAD |
53 | ๐ต๐ฑ Poland | 68.3 | BBB |
54 | ๐จ๐พ Cyprus | 67.9 | DBB |
55 | ๐ถ๐ฆ Qatar | 67.9 | AAD |
56 | ๐ง๐ณ Brunei | 67.7 | CBC |
57 | ๐ฆ๐ฟ Azerbaijan | 67.7 | BBB |
58 | ๐ต๐ช Peru | 66.8 | ACB |
59 | ๐ฐ๐ฟ Kazakhstan | 66.6 | BBC |
60 | ๐ฆ๐ฒ Armenia | 66.3 | CBB |
61 | ๐บ๐ฆ Ukraine | 66.0 | ACC |
62 | ๐ธ๐ป El Salvador | 66.0 | BCA |
63 | ๐ด๐ฒ Oman | 65.5 | BAD |
64 | ๐ฒ๐ช Montenegro | 65.4 | CBB |
65 | ๐ฐ๐ผ Kuwait | 65.2 | CAD |
66 | ๐น๐ท Turkey | 64.9 | CBC |
67 | ๐ต๐พ Paraguay | 64.7 | DBA |
68 | ๐น๐ญ Thailand | 64.6 | CBC |
69 | ๐ฎ๐ฉ Indonesia | 64.1 | BCC |
70 | ๐ท๐ธ Serbia | 63.8 | BBC |
71 | ๐ฒ๐ฐ North Macedonia | 63.7 | CBC |
72 | ๐จ๐ณ China | 63.7 | BBD |
73 | ๐ฆ๐ฑ Albania | 63.7 | DBA |
74 | ๐ฎ๐ท Iran | 63.6 | ABD |
75 | ๐น๐ณ Tunisia | 63.6 | BBC |
76 | ๐น๐น Trinidad and Tobago | 63.3 | CAD |
77 | ๐ฌ๐ช Georgia | 63.1 | CBC |
78 | ๐ธ๐ฆ Saudi Arabia | 62.8 | CAD |
79 | ๐ง๐ฆ Bosnia and Herz. | 62.1 | BBC |
80 | ๐ง๐ญ Bahrain | 62.1 | BAD |
81 | ๐ฑ๐ง Lebanon | 61.6 | DAC |
82 | ๐ฉ๐ฟ Algeria | 61.3 | CBD |
83 | ๐ฒ๐ฆ Morocco | 61.1 | CCC |
84 | ๐ง๐ด Bolivia | 60.4 | BCC |
85 | ๐ฑ๐ฐ Sri Lanka | 60.1 | BCB |
86 | ๐ฆ๐ด Angola | 60.0 | ADB |
87 | ๐ช๐ฌ Egypt | 59.9 | BBD |
88 | ๐ฌ๐น Guatemala | 59.7 | BCC |
89 | ๐ฌ๐ฆ Gabon | 59.5 | CBD |
90 | ๐ณ๐ฆ Namibia | 59.1 | CDA |
91 | ๐ป๐ณ Vietnam | 58.9 | ACD |
92 | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | 58.9 | DBD |
93 | ๐ฎ๐ถ Iraq | 58.9 | BBD |
94 | ๐ต๐ญ Philippines | 58.6 | BCC |
95 | ๐ฏ๐ด Jordan | 58.5 | DBC |
96 | ๐ง๐ผ Botswana | 57.7 | DCC |
97 | ๐ฉ๐ด Dominican Republic | 57.6 | DBB |
98 | ๐ฏ๐ฒ Jamaica | 56.9 | DBC |
99 | ๐น๐ฏ Tajikistan | 55.7 | DCC |
100 | ๐ญ๐ณ Honduras | 55.3 | DCC |
101 | ๐ธ๐ฟ Eswatini | 55.1 | DCC |
102 | ๐ณ๐ฎ Nicaragua | 54.5 | DCC |
103 | ๐ฌ๐ญ Ghana | 52.9 | CDC |
104 | ๐ฒ๐ฒ Myanmar | 51.9 | BDB |
105 | ๐ฐ๐ญ Cambodia | 51.6 | CDC |
106 | ๐ฐ๐ช Kenya | 51.3 | BDB |
107 | ๐ฒ๐ฉ Moldova | 51.2 | DCD |
108 | ๐ฒ๐ณ Mongolia | 51.1 | DCD |
109 | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | 50.3 | BDD |
110 | ๐ต๐ฐ Pakistan | 49.6 | CDD |
111 | ๐จ๐ฎ Cรดte dโIvoire | 49.3 | BDC |
112 | ๐ฟ๐ฒ Zambia | 47.8 | CDB |
113 | ๐จ๐ฒ Cameroon | 47.4 | BDD |
114 | ๐ง๐ฉ Bangladesh | 47.1 | DDC |
115 | ๐ฟ๐ผ Zimbabwe | 46.0 | CDC |
116 | ๐ฒ๐ท Mauritania | 45.6 | BDD |
117 | ๐ณ๐ต Nepal | 44.3 | DDC |
118 | ๐ธ๐ณ Senegal | 43.4 | DDD |
119 | ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania | 42.5 | DDC |
120 | ๐ช๐น Ethiopia | 42.3 | DDC |
121 | ๐ฒ๐ฌ Madagascar | 42.2 | CDC |
122 | ๐ฒ๐ฟ Mozambique | 41.4 | DDC |
123 | ๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria | 40.7 | BDD |
124 | ๐ฒ๐ผ Malawi | 39.1 | DDB |
125 | ๐ง๐ฏ Benin | 36.3 | DDD |
126 | ๐น๐ฉ Chad | 33.8 | DDD |
127 | ๐จ๐ฉ D.R.C. | 33.8 | DDC |
128 | ๐ณ๐ช Niger | 30.0 | DDD |
*The letter grade represents national performance in three dimensions. The first letter represents Security, the second letter represents Equity, the third letter represents the Environmental Sustainability. The top grade is AAA, the lowest is DDD.
Highs, Lows, and Outliers
Every country has unique circumstances โ from strategic energy reserves to green energy ambitions โ that shape their domestic energy policies. Let’s take a closer look at some of the more interesting situations around the world.
Sweden
Qatar
Singapore
Dominican Republic
Niger
Global Energy Outlook
Achieving the balance of prosperity and sustainability is a goal of nearly every country, but it takes stability and the right mix of policies to get the job done.
The fact that many trilemma scores are improving is an indicator that the world’s patchwork of energy policies are slowly moving in the right direction.
Energy
Visualizing the Scale of Global Fossil Fuel Production
How much oil, coal, and natural gas do we extract each year? See the scale of annual fossil fuel production in perspective.

The Scale of Global Fossil Fuel Production
This was originally posted on Elements. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on natural resource megatrends in your email every week.
Fossil fuels have been our predominant source of energy for over a century, and the world still extracts and consumes a colossal amount of coal, oil, and gas every year.
This infographic visualizes the volume of global fossil fuel production in 2021 using data from BPโs Statistical Review of World Energy.
The Facts on Fossil Fuels
In 2021, the world produced around 8 billion tonnes of coal, 4 billion tonnes of oil, and over 4 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.
Most of the coal is used to generate electricity for our homes and offices and has a key role in steel production. Similarly, natural gas is a large source of electricity and heat for industries and buildings. Oil is primarily used by the transportation sector, in addition to petrochemical manufacturing, heating, and other end uses.
Hereโs a full breakdown of coal, oil, and gas production by country in 2021.
Coal Production
If all the coal produced in 2021 were arranged in a cube, it would measure 2,141 meters (2.1km) on each sideโmore than 2.5 times the height of the worldโs tallest building.
China produced 50% or more than four billion tonnes of the worldโs coal in 2021. Itโs also the largest consumer of coal, accounting for 54% of coal consumption in 2021.
Rank | Country | 2021 Coal Production (million tonnes) | % of Total |
---|---|---|---|
#1 | ๐จ๐ณ China | 4,126.0 | 50% |
#2 | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | 811.3 | 10% |
#3 | ๐ฎ๐ฉ Indonesia | 614.0 | 8% |
#4 | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | 524.4 | 6% |
#5 | ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | 478.6 | 6% |
#6 | ๐ท๐บ Russia | 433.7 | 5% |
#7 | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | 234.5 | 3% |
#8 | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | 126.0 | 2% |
#9 | ๐ฐ๐ฟ Kazakhstan | 115.7 | 1% |
#10 | ๐ต๐ฑ Poland | 107.6 | 1% |
๐ Other | 600.9 | 7% | |
Total | 8,172.6 | 100% |
India is both the second largest producer and consumer of coal. Meanwhile, Indonesia is the worldโs largest coal exporter, followed by Australia.
In the West, U.S. coal production was down 47% as compared to 2011 levels, and the descent is likely to continue with the clean energy transition.
Oil Production
In 2021, the United States, Russia, and Saudi Arabia were the three largest crude oil producers, respectively.
Rank | Country | 2021 Oil Production (million tonnes) | % of Total |
---|---|---|---|
#1 | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | 711.1 | 17% |
#2 | ๐ท๐บ Russia | 536.4 | 13% |
#3 | ๐ธ๐ฆ Saudi Arabia | 515.0 | 12% |
#4 | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | 267.1 | 6% |
#5 | ๐ฎ๐ถ Iraq | 200.8 | 5% |
#6 | ๐จ๐ณ China | 198.9 | 5% |
#7 | ๐ฎ๐ท Iran | 167.7 | 4% |
#8 | ๐ฆ๐ช UAE | 164.4 | 4% |
#9 | ๐ง๐ท Brazil | 156.8 | 4% |
#10 | ๐ฐ๐ผ Kuwait | 131.1 | 3% |
๐ Other | 1172.0 | 28% | |
Total | 4221.4 | 100% |
OPEC countries, including Saudi Arabia, made up the largest share of production at 35% or 1.5 billion tonnes of oil.
U.S. oil production has seen significant growth since 2010. In 2021, the U.S. extracted 711 million tonnes of oil, more than double the 333 million tonnes produced in 2010.
Natural Gas Production
The world produced 4,036 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2021. The above graphic converts that into an equivalent of seven billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to visualize it on the same scale as oil and gas.
Here are the top 10 producers of natural gas in 2021:
Rank | Country | 2021 Natural Gas Production (billion m3) | % of Total |
---|---|---|---|
#1 | ๐บ๐ธ U.S. | 934.2 | 23% |
#2 | ๐ท๐บ Russia | 701.7 | 17% |
#3 | ๐ฎ๐ท Iran | 256.7 | 6% |
#4 | ๐จ๐ณ China | 209.2 | 5% |
#5 | ๐ถ๐ฆ Qatar | 177.0 | 4% |
#6 | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | 172.3 | 4% |
#7 | ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | 147.2 | 4% |
#8 | ๐ธ๐ฆ Saudi Arabia | 117.3 | 3% |
#9 | ๐ณ๐ด Norway | 114.3 | 3% |
#10 | ๐ฉ๐ฟ Algeria | 100.8 | 2% |
๐ Other | 1106.3 | 27% | |
Total | 4,036.9 | 100% |
The U.S. was the largest producer, with Texas and Pennsylvania accounting for 47% of its gas production. The U.S. electric power and industrial sectors account for around one-third of domestic natural gas consumption.
Russia, the next-largest producer, was the biggest exporter of gas in 2021. It exported an estimated 210 billion cubic meters of natural gas via pipelines to Europe and China. Around 80% of Russian natural gas comes from operations in the Arctic region.
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