Volatile markets influence energy transitions in motion – WEC monitor
The World Energy Council’s ‘Issues Monitor 2025’ highlights evolving patterns of global energy transitions with uncertainties, priorities and bright and blind spots.
Based on insights from over 3,000 stakeholders across 100 countries, the main uncertainty emerging currently with high impact is commodity prices, with the dependence on fossil fuels with market volatility influenced by geopolitical tensions, shifting policies and supply chain constraints.
Once again, for the second year running transmission grids emerge as the top action priority, with their expansion and modernisation essential to enabling clean energy growth but with progress being slowed due to challenges in permitting, investment and collaboration.
The social dimensions also emerge and while there are signs of change, particularly in Europe, often overlooked but critical for long-term success are community engagement and resource circularity.
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In particular public buy-in has been found to hinge on co-benefits – connecting wellbeing, sustainable development and energy transition agendas.
But there also are regional ‘bright spots’, with countries including Brazil, China, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand and Spain demonstrating that targeted policies, investments and social inclusion can and do drive meaningful energy progress.
Commenting, Dr Angela Wilkinson, Secretary General & CEO of the World Energy Council, said one only needs to look at the past few weeks to see how volatile and fractured the world energy leadership landscape has become.
For example, the EU launched the Clean Industrial Deal while the US withdrew from climate efforts.
“Geopolitical tides are turning, Mother Nature is shuffling a planetary deck of cards and many and new ways of collaborating are essential if we are to secure more energy for sustainable development – billions of lives and a healthy planet.”
“This year’s World Energy Issues Monitor explores these complexities. We identify big energy blind spots and highlight the implications of differing and shifting regional priorities. Our members are already using these new insights to convene better quality conversations and to catalyse and sustain more effective collaborative actions.”
World energy trilemma
In a call to action, the ‘World Energy Issues Monitor‘ states that the ‘energy trilemma’ – i.e. balancing energy security, energy equity and environmental sustainability – remains imperative and benefits from working with a flexible and integrated guiding framework.
Energy transitions are not quick, easy or simple processes of swapping old technology for new, nor can they be completed all in one go, the publication points out.
Instead, we are grappling with socially messy, multidimensional and dynamic situations and systems. The best way to succeed involves systems thinking, adaptive and interactive strategies and using many and new ways to stretch and deepen collaboration.
Stakeholder engagement is essential and involves making more informed choices – the how to, with whom and what for – that are inextricably linked to the why and so what of systems change management.
Diversity is real and a source of innovation and learning if we also choose to actively listen and leverage regional insights, to scale new solutions, and foster inclusive dialogue across generations, sectors and geographies.
Originally published on Enlit World.
