International. The World Economic Forum's Energy Transition Index assesses the achievements made by the world's countries in their quest to reach net-zero emissions.
The multilateral organization has pointed out that over the last decade, the global scores of the Energy Transition Index have improved by 10%.
Traditionally, Sweden, Denmark and Norway have occupied the top three spots in the overall ranking, benefiting from their diverse energy systems, stable regulatory frameworks, high investment in research and development, and carbon pricing systems that incentivise greener solutions.
At the same time, other least developed countries have also experienced changes in their score, moving towards a net-zero emissions future more quickly.
For example, the World Economic Forum's Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2023 report showed that only India and Singapore have made progress in all the dimensions of the energy transition set out in the document (Equitable Energy, Secure Energy and Sustainable Energy).
How is Latin America doing?
At the regional level, the countries that appear best positioned in the Energy Transition Index are Brazil (14th), Uruguay (23rd), Costa Rica (25th), Chile (30th) and Paraguay (34th).
According to the World Economic Forum, Latin America made some of the slowest progress, with overall scores increasing by just 5% over the past decade.
In contrast, the region stands out in the Sustainable Energy dimension, due to the intensive use of hydropower. However, its investment in renewables declined by 65% in the last 10 years.
Experts argue that Latin American countries could make progress if they work to strengthen their enabling environment, as their improvement in this category has been only 8% in 10 years.
They also suggest taking advantage of abundant natural resources to boost innovation, promoting public-private partnerships that improve access to credit, and introducing environmental tax reforms for long-term benefits.
The Renewables in Latin America and the Caribbean initiative, created at the end of 2019, aims to cover 70% of regional electricity consumption with renewable energy by 2030.
World's Leading Countries
Given that development has been uneven, countries far below in the overall ranking may lead specific categories such as equitable energy development. Countries showing strong transition momentum around equity include, for example, Kenya (ranked 46th overall) and Tunisia (ranked 89th).
Meanwhile, the energy crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine has led some nations to focus first and foremost on energy security. Brunei Darussalam (105th overall), Ghana (88th) and Albania (21st) are the leading countries in this area, despite being at different stages of development, according to the report.
All three countries have fossil fuels as their main source of energy. But while Brunei has focused on diversifying its energy sources, Ghana and Albania have reduced energy imports and improved their energy reliability.
Finally, sustainability is a priority for many countries focused on energy conservation and storage, as well as renewable energy projects. Estonia and Luxembourg have shown strong momentum in these fields.
Investment in renewable energy in Estonia continues to gain momentum, with recent investment in what will become the country's largest wind farm. Luxembourg, for its part, wants to continue reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In 2022, the country was second in the EU in reducing CO2 emissions, behind the Netherlands, by placing sustainable development and energy efficiency at the heart of its decarbonisation strategy.
