The World Energy Council has today published its annual World Energy Issues Monitor, “World Energy Transitions in Motion.” Recognising the ambitious, large-scale systems change processes involved in energy transitions, and the deeply human impacts these have on lives and livelihoods around the world, the report offers a new map for navigating energy systems challenges.
The World Energy Trilemma sits at the heart of this new map, providing the most relevant framework to make sense of the increasingly complex geopolitical landscape within which energy transitions are unfolding. In today’s increasingly polarised and fractured energy transitions landscape, balancing energy security, affordability and environmental sustainability is more critical than ever before.
In its 15th year, and at a time when priorities around the world are at odds and the risks of disorderly energy transitions, deepening siloes and impeding solutions are ever-present, the report explores how shifting tides will continue as long as the global energy policy landscape remains in flux.
Dr Angela Wilkinson, Secretary General & CEO of the World Energy Council, said: “We only need to look at the past few weeks to see how volatile and fractured the world energy LEADERSHIP landscape has become. In the last fortnight alone, the EU Clean Industrial Deal reinforced the need for swift decarbonisation measures, and while the U.S. actively withdrew from climate efforts, Chile declared emergency after major power outages. Geopolitical tides are turning, Mother Nature is shuffling a planetary deck of cards and many and new ways of collaborating are essential if we are to secure more energy for sustainable development – billions of lives and a healthy planet.
“This year’s World Energy Issues Monitor explores these complexities. We identify big energy blind spots and highlight the implications of differing and shifting regional priorities. Our members are already using these new insights to convene better quality conversations and to catalyse and sustain more effective collaborative actions.”
Highlights
- The Energy Trilemma provides a unifying frame: security, affordability, and sustainability remain the three guiding stars to navigate an increasingly complex energy reality.
- Bright spots – in nations like Brazil, China, and Saudi Arabia – are proof that local leadership and innovation can create powerful momentum, even if global consensus feels fragmented.
- Fragile “Me-First” Policies serve as key risks. Many governments pivot to self-preservation – securing domestic energy supply and imposing tariffs – exacerbating price fluctuations that ripple across regions.
- Social licence and circular economy are blind spots that deserve more urgent attention. Community pushback and a lack of resource cycling can stall transitions just as effectively as high commodity prices can.
Amidst external volatility, engaging a more human-centric approach to the energy transitions underway will ensure the future of energy is not just about what powers our systems, rather about who they empower and how we harness human collective wisdom to shape new and better energy futures for billions of lives and a healthy planet.