The World Energy Council, a London-based network of energy leaders, pioneers and experts, issued the “World Energy Trilemma Index 2021” report, which sheds light on energy sustainability across countries. In details, the report rates the energy performance of 127 countries based on 3 main dimensions namely Energy Security, Energy Equity and Environmental Sustainability altogether constituting 90% of the index score and a fourth dimension (Country Context) with a contribution of 10% to the overall score. Countries are assigned a score ranging between A (best score) and D (worst score) for 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, this is the second time the index is calculated during the COVID-19 pandemic which is still disrupting the world economy. More specifically, the report noted that the Trilemma index is an annual measurement of national energy systems that depends on historical data to assess historic performance and accordingly, the impact of the pandemic is not completely reflected in the data.

Ranking wise, the top 3 positions were dominated by European countries, with Sweden coming first with a score of 84.2 “AAAa”, followed by Switzerland (score 83.8; “AAAa”) and Denmark (score: 83.0; “AAAa”). As far as countries with the most improvement in their scores since the year 2000 are concerned, Cambodia ranked first, registering a 57% improvement, followed by Myanmar (34% improvement) and both the Dominican Republic & Kenya (33% improvement each).

Regionally, Qatar occupied the first position and ranked 31^st globally with a score of 70.3 “AADa”, followed by the U.A.E. (33^rd position globally with a score of 69.5 “BADa”) and Saudi Arabia (41^st position globally with a score of 67.5 “BADb”). Locally, Lebanon ranked 65^th in the world and 11^th regionally in the World Energy Trilemma Index, scoring 57.8 “DACd” compared to a score of 59.9 in the 2020 edition of the report. More specifically, Lebanon’s scores in each dimension came as follows: 28.3 in Energy Security, 92.6 in Energy Equity and 57.9 in Environmental Sustainability.