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M E S A G E R U L E N E R G E T I C
outcomes, and should have an exit
strategy where possible.
The report also suggests that to encourage
innovation and R&D, policymakers must
leave it to the market to decide the
winning technologies.
Intellectual property rights must be
strongly enforced to incentivise the private
sector to invest in cleaner and more
energy-efficient technologies.
The World Energy Trilemma report also includes
the 2012 Energy Sustainability
Index, a global ranking of countries based
on their performance on the three aspects
of the trilemma.
The Index finds that most countries still
have not managed to balance the energy
trilemma.
It reveals that:
•Environmental impact mitigation remains
a universal problem;
•Providing highquality and affordable
energy access remains a significant
challenge for developing and emerging
economies; and
•Countries at various stages of
development struggle with energy
security.
The top 10 performing countries in the
WEC index are Sweden, Switzerland,
Canada, Norway, Finland, New Zealand,
Denmark, Japan, France and Austria,
respectively. n
15–31 December 2012
Inside Insight
Social equity: Africa’s weakest trilemma dimension
Sub-Saharan Africa is well endowed
both with fossil fuels such as oil, gas
and coal, and renewable resources
including hydro-power and
geothermal.
However, most of this potential
remains untapped as countries face
institutional and infrastructural
barriers to make efficient use of it.
In the WEC’s 2012 Energy
Sustainability Index, countries in Sub-
Saharan Africa score low in
environmental impact mitigation,
exhibiting high pollution of air and
water.
The region has very low energy and
emissions intensity per capita, as only
31% of the population currently has
access to electricity. Social equity is
therefore Sub-Saharan Africa’s
weakest dimension. Overall, reliability
of electricity supply remains a huge
challenge and power outages are
frequent.
The region’s limited ability to improve
its energy system and related
services has significant repercussions
on its social and economic
development, including poor quality
of life and low standards in health,
education and economic
competitiveness.
While environmental and social equity
performance varies across countries,
it is notable that no country scores
very well in either dimension.
Energy sustainability balance of Sub-Saharan Africa. From the 2012 World Energy Trilemma
report.
Some countries, mostly the oilexporting
ones, have strong energy
security; however the average
performance remains mediocre.
This is primarily due to a positive 5-
year energy consumption growth
trend, which is necessary for
expanding energy services.
The region achieves a relatively good
ratio of production to total energy
supply; however with increasing
economic and industrial development
and rising demands, generation
capacity and infrastructure will have
to expand.
Africa Energy Indaba (18–21
February 2013, Johannesburg) will
offer a platform for discussing the
critical energy issues affecting Africa.
The event will include the WEC’s
annual African regional meeting.
More on: www.energyindaba.co.za n
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