The Energy Trilemma: dimensions of energy equity and sustainability
Beyond energy security, the World Energy Trilemma Index also highlights the critical, interconnected roles of energy equity and environmental sustainability in the rapid transition to a decarbonized, secure, and fair energy future. Energy equity focuses on ensuring power is affordable and accessible for all consumers, while environmental sustainability centers on transitioning to cleaner energy sources to combat climate change, aligning with global efforts like the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy). This urgency is amplified by international agreements like the Paris Agreement, emphasizing that accelerating the decarbonization of the electricity sector is the most crucial step toward achieving net-zero goals and addressing the challenges of electricity network investment and affordability.
We examined the first dimension of the World Energy Trilemma Index—energy security—and its role in the reliability and resilience of electric grid infrastructure. But there’s more in the puzzle we’re collectively trying to solve. We need to simultaneously recognize the rapid transition we’re in to decarbonize while making sure our energy systems are secure, equitable, and environmentally sustainable. While separate dimensions of the index, energy equity and environmental sustainability are equally as important and intrinsically linked.
As defined by the World Energy Council, energy equity looks at access to power: it should be affordable, priced fairly, and available for consumption, from both a domestic and commercial standpoint. Environmental sustainability centers around the transition to cleaner power sources in the global fight against the impacts of climate change. But the definitions of these terms merely scratch the surface.
Sustainability is arguably one of the watch words of the decade. Afterall, climate change isn’t just a future possibility we need to plan for. It’s here, now. Many countries have signed the Paris Agreement, committing to limit the global temperature increase by 2050. Further, the United Nations (UN) developed a blueprint for tackling climate change in tandem with many other major international issues through their formation of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UN SDGs are goals of urgent action that relate to the power industry, including but not limited to affordable and clean energy; industry, innovation, and infrastructure; sustainable cities and communities; and climate action.
The two dimensions of the World Energy Trilemma that we’re examining—energy equity and environmental sustainability—play a part in the shared vision of the UN SDG-7 (Affordable and Clean Energy). Like the SDGs, energy equity/affordability and sustainability are critical to both developed and developing nations.
Our role as a business and society is building on these goals and strategies. But how? To start, we have to ask ourselves some tough questions. How can grid transformation contribute to supporting our affordable clean energy goal? Can the grid allow for maximum utilization and integration of renewable energy resources? Is it coming from sustainable sources? Can we invest more in carbon capture, hydrogen, pump-storage, etc.?
It seems there are encouraging signs of progress onUN SDG-7and on a global scale. However, there is a lot still to do in terms of electricity networks/power grid infrastructure investments and policies. US Department of Energy’s Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium project maps electricity affordability as not the cost of electricity, but as a threshold percentage of how much household income goes to electricity.
As per the IEA’s World Energy Outlook and net-zero by 2050reports, accelerating the decarbonization of the electricity sector is the single most important way to close the 2030 ambition gap.
Stay tuned for my next blog, where we’ll explore the possible solutions for the World Energy Trilemma, and take a deeper dive into the work that’s powering the future of electricity networks and power grids.