World Energy Scenario Foundations 2024

The recent Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the conflict in Gaza, geopolitical realignments, the rise of AI, and the consequences of severe, climate-change-related weather events have all profoundly affected the global economy and global energy system. An in-depth project to build new scenarios to 2050 is needed. The Council is offering reflections on what a new set of scenarios might look like. 

Our new World Energy Scenario Foundations build upon elements of the 2019 World Energy Council scenarios and the lessons learned since then. Enriched by an updated comparison of global energy outlooks, scenarios and visions has been combined with regional deep-dive dialogues, they offer a glimpse of the foundations on which a new scenario set might be built, including specific views on designing for the future to realise significant opportunities.

As societies approach the global energy transition rapids, they are learning to navigate between Rocks and Rivers as we chart the multiple pathways required for fairer, faster and far-reaching energy transitions.