World Energy Trilemma 2011: Policies for the future - Assessment of country energy and climate policy

The World Energy Council in partnership with Oliver Wyman (global consulting firm) has over the past year worked on its third report looking at Policies for the future: Assessment of country energy and climate policy. The aim of the report is to identify key areas for policy improvements and to understand how successful policies can be transferred from one country to another.

To provide energy systems that are simultaneously affordable, stable and environmentally sensitive is the universal aspiration. If the enabling policies are to gain acceptance, promote investment and secure our energy future, they should be built on transparent dialogue that is explicit about the trade-offs between multiple goals, time periods and participants, necessary to overcome this 'energy trilemma'.

WEC's Energy Sustainability Index 2011 ranks the energy sustainability performance of the 90 plus WEC member countries according to WEC's definition of energy sustainability, which is based on three core dimensions - energy security, social equity and environmental impact mitigation. The goal of the annual Index is to understand and provide high-level insights into a country's likely ability to provide a stable, affordable and environmentally sensitive energy system. The 2011 Index is a continuation of the 2010 Index, which has been developing and improving since 2009.