Energy

Ranked: Countries with the Most Sustainable Energy Policies

Published

5 years ago

October 2, 2019

Nick Routley

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

sweden energy trilemma index

Qatar

qatar energy trilemma index

Singapore

singapore energy trilemma index

Dominican Republic

dominican republic energy trilemma index

Niger

niger energy trilemma index

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.

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Charted: 4 Reasons Why Lithium Could Be the Next Gold Rush

Visual Capitalist has partnered with EnergyX to show why drops in prices and growing demand may make now the right time to invest in lithium.

Graphics & Design

This is a long-form infographic with a line graph, sunburst graph, bubble chart, and horizontal bar chart that shows now is the time to invest in lithium.

4 Reasons Why You Should Invest in Lithium

Lithium’s importance in powering EVs makes it a linchpin of the clean energy transition and one of the world’s most precious minerals.

In this graphic, Visual Capitalist partnered with EnergyX to explore why now may be the time to invest in lithium.

1. Lithium Prices Have Dropped

One of the most critical aspects of evaluating an investment is ensuring that the asset’s value is higher than its price would indicate. Lithium is integral to powering EVs, and, prices have fallen fast over the last year:

Date	LiOH·H₂O*	Li₂CO₃**
Feb 2023	$76	$71
March 2023	$71	$61
Apr 2023	$43	$33
May 2023	$43	$33
June 2023	$47	$45
July 2023	$44	$40
Aug 2023	$35	$35
Sept 2023	$28	$27
Oct 2023	$24	$23
Nov 2023	$21	$21
Dec 2023	$17	$16
Jan 2024	$14	$15
Feb 2024	$13	$14

Note: Monthly spot prices were taken as close to the 14th of each month as possible.
*Lithium hydroxide monohydrate MB-LI-0033
**Lithium carbonate MB-LI-0029

2. Lithium-Ion Battery Prices Are Also Falling

The drop in lithium prices is just one reason to invest in the metal. Increasing economies of scale, coupled with low commodity prices, have caused the cost of lithium-ion batteries to drop significantly as well.

In fact, BNEF reports that between 2013 and 2023, the price of a Li-ion battery dropped by 82%.

Year	Price per KWh
2023	$139
2022	$161
2021	$150
2020	$160
2019	$183
2018	$211
2017	$258
2016	$345
2015	$448
2014	$692
2013	$780

3. EV Adoption is Sustainable

One of the best reasons to invest in lithium is that EVs, one of the main drivers behind the demand for lithium, have reached a price point similar to that of traditional vehicle.

According to the Kelly Blue Book, Tesla’s average transaction price dropped by 25% between 2022 and 2023, bringing it in line with many other major manufacturers and showing that EVs are a realistic transport option from a consumer price perspective.

Manufacturer	September 2022	September 2023
BMW	$69,000	$72,000
Ford	$54,000	$56,000
Volkswagon	$54,000	$56,000
General Motors	$52,000	$53,000
Tesla	$68,000	$51,000

4. Electricity Demand in Transport is Growing

As EVs become an accessible transport option, there’s an investment opportunity in lithium. But possibly the best reason to invest in lithium is that the IEA reports global demand for the electricity in transport could grow dramatically by 2030:

Transport Type	2022	2025	2030
Buses 🚌	23,000 GWh	50,000 GWh	130,000 GWh
Cars 🚙	65,000 GWh	200,000 GWh	570,000 GWh
Trucks 🛻	4,000 GWh	15,000 GWh	94,000 GWh
Vans 🚐	6,000 GWh	16,000 GWh	72,000 GWh

The Lithium Investment Opportunity

Lithium presents a potentially classic investment opportunity. Lithium and battery prices have dropped significantly, and recently, EVs have reached a price point similar to other vehicles. By 2030, the demand for clean energy, especially in transport, will grow dramatically.

With prices dropping and demand skyrocketing, now is the time to invest in lithium.

EnergyX is poised to exploit lithium demand with cutting-edge lithium extraction technology capable of extracting 300% more lithium than current processes.

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