Oil and Gas
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 – using data from the World Energy Council (WEC) – 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 nation’s 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 country’s 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 country’s 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 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 85.8 | AAA |
2 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 85.2 | AAA |
3 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | 84.7 | AAA |
4 | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 81.5 | AAA |
5 | 🇫🇮 Finland | 81.1 | AAA |
6 | 🇫🇷 France | 80.8 | AAA |
7 | 🇦🇹 Austria | 80.7 | AAA |
8 | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 80.4 | BAA |
9 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 79.4 | AAA |
10 | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | 79.4 | AAA |
11 | 🇳🇴 Norway | 79.3 | CAA |
12 | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 79.2 | AAA |
13 | 🇨🇦 Canada | 78.0 | AAC |
14 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 77.8 | BAB |
15 | 🇺🇸 United States | 77.5 | AAB |
16 | 🇨🇿 Czech Republic | 77.4 | AAB |
17 | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | 77.2 | ABA |
18 | 🇪🇸 Spain | 77.0 | BAA |
19 | 🇭🇺 Hungary | 76.8 | AAB |
20 | 🇮🇹 Italy | 76.8 | BAA |
21 | 🇮🇸 Iceland | 76.2 | BAB |
22 | 🇱🇻 Latvia | 76.1 | ABA |
23 | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | 75.6 | ABA |
24 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 75.2 | BAA |
25 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | 75.2 | CAA |
26 | 🇷🇴 Romania | 75.1 | ABA |
27 | 🇭🇷 Croatia | 74.9 | ABA |
28 | 🇦🇺 Australia | 74.7 | BAB |
29 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | 74.0 | BBB |
30 | 🇪🇪 Estonia | 73.8 | BAB |
31 | 🇯🇵 Japan | 73.8 | CAB |
32 | 🇮🇱 Israel | 73.3 | CAB |
33 | 🇲🇹 Malta | 72.9 | DAA |
34 | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong (China) | 72.5 | DAB |
35 | 🇦🇷 Argentina | 72.4 | BAB |
36 | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | 72.4 | CBA |
37 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 71.7 | BAC |
38 | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | 71.6 | CBA |
39 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | 71.6 | ABA |
40 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 71.3 | ABB |
41 | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | 71.3 | BBB |
42 | 🇷🇺 Russia | 71.2 | AAC |
43 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | 71.2 | DAB |
44 | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | 70.3 | ABB |
45 | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | 69.6 | ABB |
46 | 🇵🇦 Panama | 69.5 | CBA |
47 | 🇬🇷 Greece | 69.5 | CBA |
48 | 🇨🇱 Chile | 69.4 | BBB |
49 | 🇨🇴 Colombia | 69.3 | BCA |
50 | 🇲🇺 Mauritius | 69.0 | CBB |
51 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | 68.5 | BBC |
52 | 🇦🇪 U.A.E. | 68.3 | BAD |
53 | 🇵🇱 Poland | 68.3 | BBB |
54 | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | 67.9 | DBB |
55 | 🇶🇦 Qatar | 67.9 | AAD |
56 | 🇧🇳 Brunei | 67.7 | CBC |
57 | 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan | 67.7 | BBB |
58 | 🇵🇪 Peru | 66.8 | ACB |
59 | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | 66.6 | BBC |
60 | 🇦🇲 Armenia | 66.3 | CBB |
61 | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | 66.0 | ACC |
62 | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | 66.0 | BCA |
63 | 🇴🇲 Oman | 65.5 | BAD |
64 | 🇲🇪 Montenegro | 65.4 | CBB |
65 | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | 65.2 | CAD |
66 | 🇹🇷 Turkey | 64.9 | CBC |
67 | 🇵🇾 Paraguay | 64.7 | DBA |
68 | 🇹🇭 Thailand | 64.6 | CBC |
69 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 64.1 | BCC |
70 | 🇷🇸 Serbia | 63.8 | BBC |
71 | 🇲🇰 North Macedonia | 63.7 | CBC |
72 | 🇨🇳 China | 63.7 | BBD |
73 | 🇦🇱 Albania | 63.7 | DBA |
74 | 🇮🇷 Iran | 63.6 | ABD |
75 | 🇹🇳 Tunisia | 63.6 | BBC |
76 | 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago | 63.3 | CAD |
77 | 🇬🇪 Georgia | 63.1 | CBC |
78 | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 62.8 | CAD |
79 | 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herz. | 62.1 | BBC |
80 | 🇧🇭 Bahrain | 62.1 | BAD |
81 | 🇱🇧 Lebanon | 61.6 | DAC |
82 | 🇩🇿 Algeria | 61.3 | CBD |
83 | 🇲🇦 Morocco | 61.1 | CCC |
84 | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | 60.4 | BCC |
85 | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | 60.1 | BCB |
86 | 🇦🇴 Angola | 60.0 | ADB |
87 | 🇪🇬 Egypt | 59.9 | BBD |
88 | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | 59.7 | BCC |
89 | 🇬🇦 Gabon | 59.5 | CBD |
90 | 🇳🇦 Namibia | 59.1 | CDA |
91 | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 58.9 | ACD |
92 | 🇿🇦 South Africa | 58.9 | DBD |
93 | 🇮🇶 Iraq | 58.9 | BBD |
94 | 🇵🇭 Philippines | 58.6 | BCC |
95 | 🇯🇴 Jordan | 58.5 | DBC |
96 | 🇧🇼 Botswana | 57.7 | DCC |
97 | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | 57.6 | DBB |
98 | 🇯🇲 Jamaica | 56.9 | DBC |
99 | 🇹🇯 Tajikistan | 55.7 | DCC |
100 | 🇭🇳 Honduras | 55.3 | DCC |
101 | 🇸🇿 Eswatini | 55.1 | DCC |
102 | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | 54.5 | DCC |
103 | 🇬🇭 Ghana | 52.9 | CDC |
104 | 🇲🇲 Myanmar | 51.9 | BDB |
105 | 🇰🇭 Cambodia | 51.6 | CDC |
106 | 🇰🇪 Kenya | 51.3 | BDB |
107 | 🇲🇩 Moldova | 51.2 | DCD |
108 | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | 51.1 | DCD |
109 | 🇮🇳 India | 50.3 | BDD |
110 | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | 49.6 | CDD |
111 | 🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire | 49.3 | BDC |
112 | 🇿🇲 Zambia | 47.8 | CDB |
113 | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | 47.4 | BDD |
114 | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | 47.1 | DDC |
115 | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | 46.0 | CDC |
116 | 🇲🇷 Mauritania | 45.6 | BDD |
117 | 🇳🇵 Nepal | 44.3 | DDC |
118 | 🇸🇳 Senegal | 43.4 | DDD |
119 | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | 42.5 | DDC |
120 | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | 42.3 | DDC |
121 | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | 42.2 | CDC |
122 | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | 41.4 | DDC |
123 | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | 40.7 | BDD |
124 | 🇲🇼 Malawi | 39.1 | DDB |
125 | 🇧🇯 Benin | 36.3 | DDD |
126 | 🇹🇩 Chad | 33.8 | DDD |
127 | 🇨🇩 D.R.C. | 33.8 | DDC |
128 | 🇳🇪 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 — from strategic energy reserves to green energy ambitions — 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.
Environment
Big Oil Profits Reached Record High Levels in 2022
This visual highlights the five big oil companies that doubled their individual profits and earned a cumulative profit of over $200 billion in 2022.

Big Oil Profits Reached Record High Levels in 2022
Last year was a great year for oil companies.
Global crude oil prices had already escalated as global economies began recovering, and demand increased after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shot these prices further up as fossil fuel trade fell under the microscope.
In this graphic, Vipul Sharma of Mastermind Investor uses accumulated earnings data from Energy Monitor to highlight the five companies that made a cumulative profit of over $200 billion in 2022.
The Five Big Oil Winners
Within the span of one year, the five Big Oil companies — ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, and TotalEnergies — more than doubled their profits.
Company | Profit 2021 | Profit 2022 |
---|---|---|
ExxonMobil | $23B | $59.1B |
Shell | $19.3B | $39.9B |
Chevron | $15.6B | $36.5B |
TotalEnergies | $18.1B | $36.2B |
BP | $12.8B | $27.7B |
Securing a total profit of $59.2 billion, U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil recorded the highest total of the lot. In 2021, the company’s profits were $23 billion or less than half of 2022’s haul.
It was joined by Chevron, whose profits rose by over 134% to $36.5 billion, and Shell, whose profit of $39.9 billion was the highest in the company’s 115-year history.
Where Will This Money Go?
One of the main focuses of the COP27 conference in Egypt last year was the global attempt to phase down fossil fuels and move to clean energy.
So far, these massive profits have largely gone to stock buybacks and reinvesting in shareholders. With lower oil prices so far in 2023, how will Big Oil react and spend moving forward?
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