The World Energy Council, a London-based network of energy leaders, pioneers and experts, issued the “World Energy Trilemma Index 2022” 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, the world has been living in the midst of a global energy crisis for some time now, with the COVID-19 pandemic hampering energy demand and supply during the years 2020 and 2021. The report added that energy supply failed to catch up with the surge in demand later on, leading to an increase in energy prices. Then came Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which disrupted the flow of Russian gas to Europe and led to a dramatic increase in energy prices as Europe sought alternative sources of gas. It is worth noting in this perspective, that the below results do not take into consideration the impact of the aforementioned invasion as per the report.

Ranking wise, the top 3 positions were dominated by European countries, with Sweden coming first with a score of 84.3 “AAAa”, followed by Switzerland (score 83.4; “AAAa”) and Denmark (score: 83.3; “AAAa”). As far as countries with the most improvement in their scores since the year 2000 are concerned, Cambodia ranked first, registering a 101% improvement, followed by Tajikistan (75% improvement) and Malta (66% improvement).

Regionally, the U.A.E. occupied the first position in the index and ranked 26^th globally with a score of 70.5 “CADa”, followed by Bahrain (32^nd position globally with a score of 68.6 “BADc”) and Saudi Arabia (33^rd position globally with a score of 68.3 “BADb”). Locally, Lebanon held the 59^th place in the world and the 12^th position in the region in the World Energy Trilemma Index, scoring 57.0 “DACd” compared to a score of 57.8 in the 2021 edition of the report. More specifically, Lebanon’s rank in each dimension came as follows: 127^th in Energy Security, 43^rd in Energy Equity and 90^th in Environmental Sustainability.