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 – 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.
Energy
The World’s Biggest Oil Producers in 2023
Just three countries accounted for 40% of global oil production last year.
The World’s Biggest Oil Producers in 2023
This was originally posted on Elements. Sign up to the free mailing list to get beautiful visualizations on natural resource megatrends in your email.
Despite efforts to decarbonize the global economy, oil still remains one of the world’s most important resources. It’s also produced by a fairly limited group of countries, which can be a source of economic and political leverage.
This graphic illustrates global crude oil production in 2023, measured in million barrels per day, sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Three Countries Account for 40% of Global Oil Production
In 2023, the United States, Russia, and Saudi Arabia collectively contributed 32.8 million barrels per day to global oil production.
Oil Production 2023 | Million barrels per day |
---|---|
🇺🇸 U.S. | 12.9 |
🇷🇺 Russia | 10.1 |
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 9.7 |
🇨🇦 Canada | 4.6 |
🇮🇶 Iraq | 4.3 |
🇨🇳 China | 4.2 |
🇮🇷 Iran | 3.6 |
🇧🇷 Brazil | 3.4 |
🇦🇪 UAE | 3.4 |
🇰🇼 Kuwait | 2.7 |
🌍 Other | 22.8 |
These three nations have consistently dominated oil production since 1971. The leading position, however, has alternated among them over the past five decades.
In contrast, the combined production of the next three largest producers—Canada, Iraq, and China—reached 13.1 million barrels per day in 2023, just surpassing the production of the United States alone.
In the near term, no country is likely to surpass the record production achieved by the U.S. in 2023, as no other producer has ever reached a daily capacity of 13.0 million barrels. Recently, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned Saudi Aramco scrapped plans to increase production capacity to 13.0 million barrels per day by 2027.
In 2024, analysts forecast that the U.S. will maintain its position as the top oil producer. In fact, according to Macquarie Group, U.S. oil production is expected to achieve a record pace of about 14 million barrels per day by the end of the year.
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