The World Energy Council, a London-based network of energy leaders, pioneers and experts, issued the “World Energy Trilemma Index 2019” report, which sheds light on energy sustainability across countries. In details, the report rates the energy performance of 128 countries based on 3 main dimensions namely Energy Security, Energy Equity and Environmental Sustainability with a fourth dimension (Country Context) also included in the calculations. Countries are assigned a score ranging between A (best score) and D (worst score) on each of the aforementioned dimensions and are ranked accordingly. Further information on the covered dimensions is highlighted below:

-       Energy Security: Assesses a nation’s ability to meet current and future energy demand in a reliable manner and its ability to sustain & recover from system shocks

-       Energy Equity: Highlights the country’s capacity to provide nationwide access to an affordable and fairly priced energy for domestic and commercial use

-       Environmental Sustainability: Depicts the transition of the country’s energy sector towards circumventing any potential environmental harm

-       Country Context: Represents the elements that enable a country to develop & implement energy policy and accomplish its energy goals.

As per the report, the world is transitioning from a reliance on fossil fuels for energy production to an adoption of renewable energies for this purpose, with the twin objective of combatting climate change and generating economic prosperity. The report also uncovered that 10 countries achieved a “AAA” ranking in the 2019 report, i.e. realizing an A score on each of the Energy Security, Energy Equity and Environmental Sustainability criteria. In addition, the report highlighted that when assessing the performance of countries over the 20-year period starting the year 2000, 119 countries have reported an overall improvement in their scores whilst 9 countries have suffered a decline in their scores over the aforementioned two-decade period.

Ranking wise, the top 3 positions were dominated by European countries, with Switzerland coming first followed by Sweden and Denmark, all achieving a “AAA” combined score on the three main dimensions and an “a” score on the country context dimension. As far as countries with the most improvement over the 2010-2019 period are concerned, Cambodia ranked first with a 45% improvement in its score, followed by Myanmar (41% improvement) and the Dominican Republic (31% improvement).

Regionally, the U.A.E. occupied the first position and the 52^nd position globally with a (BADa) score, followed by Qatar (55^th position globally with an “AADb” score) and Kuwait (65^th position globally with a “CADb” score). Locally, Lebanon ranked 81^st globally and 7^th regionally, with a “DACd” score. In addition, Lebanon ranked 10^th globally and 1^st regionally in terms of improvement in its score (23% improvement) over the 2000-2019 period.