The World Economic Forum (WEF) has said that 92 out of 115 countries tracked by its Energy Transition Index (ETI) have increased their aggregate score over the past 10 years, affirming the positive direction of the global transition towards clean energy. In the Balkan region, Croatia and Albania are the best ranked, taking the 23rd and 25th spot, respectively.
Compared with the ETI 2020, Croatia and Albania overtook Slovenia as leaders in the region. Croatia, whose score is 66.6, has improved by 3.46 points since 2012, while Albania added 5.26 points to 66.4. Slovenia is ranked 31st this time around, with 65.6, up 3.58 points from 2012, followed by Romania, in the 38th spot, with an increase of 0.88 to 64.3.
Montenegro (up 4.83 points to 60.1) and Bulgaria (up 4.38 points to 58.6) took the 52nd and 58th place, respectively. Serbia has added 1.69 points since 2012 to 53.5 in 2021, ending up 84th, an improvement on the previous year’s 99th spot. At the same time, Bosnia and Herzegovina also climbed, from the 103rd place in ETI 2020 to the 98th in the latest report, gaining 1.84 points to 50.4 since 2012.
The 10th ETI uses revised methodology taking into account the urgency of climate action
The ETI tracks countries’ energy systems on the three dimensions of the energy triangle (economic development and growth, environmental sustainability, and energy security and access). This year’s, 10th anniversary report, uses a revised ETI methodology, which takes into account recent changes in the global energy landscape and the increasing urgency of climate change action, according to a press release from the WEF.
Despite the overall improvement over the past ten years, the report also notes that the progress has been uneven in individual countries, as only 13 out of the 115 countries tracked have made steady gains in ETI scores.
Energy transition investments top USD 500 billion for the first time in 2020 despite the pandemic
The report also notes that annual global investment in the energy transition surpassed USD 500 billion for the first time in 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, as the number of people without access to electricity has declined over the past decade to less than 800 million, from 1.2 billion in 2010.
At the same time, energy importing countries have achieved gains on the ETI’s environmental sustainability and energy security indicators thanks to increased renewable energy capacities.
Nordic countries keep leading positions as Sweden tops list for 4th straight year
Sweden, Norway, and Denmark have maintained their leading positions on ETI, thanks to strong progress on environmental sustainability, specifically in decreasing the carbon intensity of their energy mix, according to the press release. Sweden occupies the number one spot on the ETI for the fourth consecutive year.
The United Kingdom, in the 7th place, France, which ended up 9th, and Germany, in the 18th spot, have progressed on the back of strong performance in environmental sustainability, although their scores in the economic growth and development segment have regressed over the past decade.
Canada is ranked 22nd and the United States 24th. At the same time, China (in the 68th place) and India (87th), which together account for a third of global energy demand, have both made strong improvements over the past decade, despite coal continuing to play a significant role in their energy mix, according to the WEF.
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