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Energy 32 (2007) 875–882

www.elsevier.com/locate/energy

Energy indicators for sustainable development

Ivan Vera, Lucille Langlois
International Atomic Energy Agency, Planning and Economic Studies Section, Wagramer Strasse 5, P.O. Box 100, A-1400 Vienna, Austria

Abstract

Energy is an essential factor in overall efforts to achieve sustainable development. Countries striving to this end are seeking to reassess
their energy systems with a view toward planning energy programmes and strategies in line with sustainable development goals and
objectives. This paper summarizes the outcome of an international partnership initiative on indicators for sustainable energy
development that aims to provide an analytical tool for assessing current energy production and use patterns at a national level. The
proposed set of energy indicators represents a first step of a consensus reached on this subject by five international agencies—two from
the United Nations system (the Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the International Atomic Energy Agency), two from the
European Union (Eurostat and the European Environment Agency) and one from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (the International Energy Agency). Energy and environmental experts including statisticians, analysts, policy makers and
academics have started to implement general guidelines and methodologies in the development of national energy indicators for use in
their efforts to monitor the effects of energy policies on the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
r 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Keywords: Sustainable development; Energy indicators; Energy use; Energy intensities; Energy accessibility; Environmental impacts

1. Energy and sustainable development
The provision of adequate and reliable energy services at
affordable costs, in a secure and environmentally benign
manner, and in conformity with social and economic
development needs, is an essential element of sustainable
development. Energy is vital for eradicating poverty,
improving human welfare and raising living standards.
However, most current patterns of energy supply and
use are unsustainable [1]. Many areas of the world have
no reliable and secure energy supplies, which limits
economic development, while in other areas environ-
mental degradation from energy use inhibits sustainable
development. About one-third of the world’s population
still relies on the use of animal power and non-
commercial fuels. Some 1.7 billion people have no access
to electricity. This lack of access to modern energy services
severely limits socioeconomic development—an integral
part of sustainable development. Nonetheless, because of
improved technology and an increased understanding of
Corresponding author. Tel.:+43 1 2600 22773.
E-mail address: I.A.Vera@iaea.org (I. Vera).
the effects and impacts of energy and energy systems, a
developing country today can make the transition from an
agricultural to an industrial economy with much
lower costs and with less environmental damage than
today’s developed countries were subjected to during their
transition.
In 1997, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly
formally recognized the need for more sustainable energy
use patterns, and for the first time, an intergovernmental
process was created to elaborate a common approach to
the sustainable energy development agenda. The 2000
World Energy Assessment publication [2] thoroughly
analyses the relationships among energy, social issues,
health, and the environment; addresses issues of energy
security, resource availability, end-use efficiency, renewable
and advanced supply technologies; pays special attention
to the fundamental problem of rural energy in developing
countries and to the role of energy in economic prosperity;
and depicts energy scenarios for the 21st century. In April
2001, the Ninth Session of the Commission on Sustainable
Development (CSD-9) recognized the need for more
sustainable patterns of production, distribution and use
of energy.

0360-5442/$ - see front matter r 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

doi:10.1016/j.energy.2006.08.006
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
876 I. Vera, L. Langlois / Energy 32 (2007) 875–882
Energy was discussed in 2002 at the World Summit on
Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg,
South Africa [3]. At the WSSD, the international commu-
nity reconfirmed that access to energy is important for the
Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion
of people living in poverty by 2015 [4]. The summit also
called for changes in unsustainable patterns of energy
production and use. The agreement reached at WSSD, the
Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI), places
energy firmly on the agenda of sustainable development
as vital for both the eradication of poverty and changing
consumption and production patterns.
2. Need for energy indicators
The 1992 Earth Summit recognized the important role
that indicators can play in helping countries to make
informed decisions concerning sustainable development.
This recognition is articulated in Chapter 40 of Agenda 21,
which calls on countries at the national level, as well as
international, governmental and non-governmental orga-
nizations, to develop indicators of sustainable develop-
ment. It was in light of the growing prominence of energy
in the international debate and the importance of energy in
efforts to implement the WSSD agreement at the national
level, that a number of international and regional
organizations continued to work on the development of
sets of indicators that could be used by countries, especially
developing countries, to measure progress on energy and
sustainable development at the national level.
Energy indicators are not merely energy statistics; rather,
they extend beyond basic statistics to provide a deeper
understanding of causal relationships in the energy–envir-
onment–economics nexus, and to highlight linkages that
may not be evident from simple statistics. Taken together,
indicators can give a picture of the whole energy system,
including interlinkages and trade-offs among various
dimensions of sustainable development, as well as the
longer-term implications of current decisions and beha-
viour. Changes in the indicator values over time mark
progress or lack of progress towards sustainable develop-
ment.
Policymakers need ways to measure and assess the
current and future effects of energy use on health, society,
air, soil and water. They need to know their country’s
current status concerning energy and economic sustain-
ability, what needs to be improved and how these
improvements can be achieved. Therefore, it is important
for policymakers to understand the implications of selected
energy, environmental and economic programmes, policies
and plans, and their impacts on the shaping of develop-
ment and on the feasibility of making this development
sustainable.
Indicators are useful for monitoring progress towards
specific country goals. For example, to monitor success in
limiting emissions from the energy sector, it would be
sensible to analyse indicators related to energy use and
efficiency, and population and economic growth, and to
identify the factors most responsive to policy changes.
Progress is then more easily monitored and policies are
often more easily implemented by using these indicators
rather than focusing solely on the goal.
Indicators are thus useful tools for communicating
energy issues related to sustainable development to policy-
makers and to the public, and for promoting institutional
dialogue.
3. An international partnership initiative
In response to decisions taken by the United Nations
Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) and to
Chapter 40 of Agenda 21, in 1995 United Nations
Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)
began working to produce an overall set of indicators for
sustainable development (ISD). This effort concluded with
a package of 58 ISD, of which only three were energy
related—annual energy consumption per capita, intensity
of energy use and share of consumption of renewable
energy resources [5].
In order to complement the effort of the CSD, the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) started a
long-term programme on Indicators for Sustainable
Energy Development (ISED) in 1999 in cooperation with
various international organizations and some Member
States of the IAEA. This international effort had two
major objectives: (1) to complement the overall UN Work
Programme on Indicators of Sustainable Development and
(2) to foster energy and statistical capacity building needed
to induce energy sustainability. The project was presented
at the CSD-9 in April 2001 [6].
In 2002, the indicators project led by the IAEA classified
as an official partnership initiative of the WSSD. The
partnership was considered an effective initiative of
international scope aimed at supporting the practical
implementation of Agenda 21 and of sustainable develop-
ment activities at a country level and of particular interest
to developing countries. Furthermore, the partnership
represented an example of a project with specific outcomes
based on a series of tasks and action-oriented activities that
would contribute in translating political commitments into
actions and consequently into tangible benefits.
The international partnership initiative on ISED was
conducted by the IAEA in cooperation with UNDESA, the
International Energy Agency (IEA), the Statistical Office
of the European Communities (Eurostat) and the Eur-
opean Environment Agency (EEA). These organizations,
which are recognized as world leaders in statistical analysis
and in the development of energy and environmental
indicators, are actively involved in fostering the implemen-
tation of principles of sustainable development at national
and regional levels. This harmonized endeavour was
pursued to eliminate duplication of efforts by international
organizations and to provide users with a single set of
energy indicators applicable worldwide.
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I. Vera, L. Langlois / Energy 32 (2007) 875–882 877

In 2005, the ISED initiative achieved two major
outcomes: development and publication of a set of energy
indicators and corresponding guidelines and methodolo-
gies that can be used worldwide by countries in tracking
their progress toward nationally defined sustainable energy
development goals; and a set of national case studies
testing and implementing the applicability, relevance and
utility of these indicators in a number of selected countries.
The publication Energy Indicators for Sustainable Devel-
opment: Guidelines and Methodologies is a multi-agency
report [7] representing a unique collaboration by five major
international organizations with expertise in the field of
energy indicators.
The case studies, developed under the aegis of a
Coordinated Research Project at the IAEA, included
studies conducted by national teams from a number
of countries in Latin America, Eastern Europe and
Asia. The results of these case studies were to be published
in a special edition of UN Natural Resources Forum
journal.
4. Interagency report on guidelines and methodologies
The interagency report identifies and describes 30 Energy
Indicators for Sustainable Development (EISD) and
provides guidelines and specific methodologies on how to
construct them. The indicators are listed in Table 1 and
classified according to dimensions, themes and sub-themes
following the same conceptual framework used by the
CSD. The indicators are classified into three major

Table 1
Energy indicators for sustainable development

Theme/Sub-theme Energy indicator

Equity
Accessibility SOC1 Share of households (or population) without electricity or commercial energy, or heavily dependent
on non-commercial energy
Affordability SOC2 Share of household income spent on fuel and electricity
Disparities SOC3 Household energy use for each income group and corresponding fuel mix
Health
Safety SOC4 Accident fatalities per energy produced by fuel chain
Use and production patterns
Overall use ECO1 Energy use per capita
Overall productivity ECO2 Energy use per unit of GDP
Supply efficiency ECO3 Efficiency of energy conversion and distribution
Production ECO4 Reserves-to-production ratio
ECO5 Resources-to-production ratio
End use ECO6 Industrial energy intensities
ECO7 Agricultural energy intensities
ECO8 Service/ commercial energy intensities
ECO9 Household energy intensities
ECO10 Transport energy intensities
Diversification (fuel mix) ECO11 Fuel shares in energy and electricity
ECO12 Non-carbon energy share in energy and electricity
ECO13 Renewable energy share in energy and electricity
Prices ECO14 End-use energy prices by fuel and by sector

Security
Imports ECO15 Net energy import dependency
Strategic fuel stocks ECO16 Stocks of critical fuels per corresponding fuel consumption
Atmosphere
Climate change ENV1 GHG emissions from energy production and use per capita and per unit of GDP
Air quality ENV2 Ambient concentrations of air pollutants in urban areas
ENV3 Air-pollutant emissions from energy systems

Water
Water quality ENV4 Contaminant discharges in liquid effluents from energy systems
Land
Soil quality ENV5 Soil area where acidification exceeds critical load
Forest ENV6 Rate of deforestation attributed to energy use
Solid-waste generation and ENV7 Ratio of solid-waste generation to units of energy produced
management
ENV8 Ratio of solid waste properly disposed of to total generated solid waste
ENV9 Ratio of solid radioactive waste to units of energy produced
ENV10 Ratio of solid radioactive waste awaiting disposal to total generated solid radioactive waste

878
dimensions of sustainable development—social, economic
and environmental. They are further classified into seven
themes and 19 sub-themes. Note that some indicators can
be classified into more than one dimension, theme or sub-
theme, given the numerous interlinkages among these
categories.
The EISD set is not comprehensive but addresses the
most important energy-related issues of interest to coun-
tries worldwide. The energy indicators were selected based
on consensus reached by the international organizations
participating in this partnership. The selection criteria
included considerations about data availability in develop-
ing countries and the feasibility of collecting additional
data considered essential to the development of important
indicators.
Each of the energy indicators in this interagency
publication is fully described by its corresponding metho-
dology sheet. The methodology sheets make up the bulk of
the report and were prepared to assist users in the
elaboration, construction and implementation of the EISD.
They include main and alternative definitions (thus
providing flexibility to suit specific circumstances), meth-
ods, the components of each indicator, the units in which
they are measured, instructions on how to construct them,
data issues and sources, data availability, and relevance to
sustainable development.
The EISD are useful for policy makers, energy analysts
and statisticians for their assessment of current conditions
of energy systems, effectiveness of energy policies in place
and in the definition of energy strategies for sustainable
development. The effort should eventually translate into
improved statistical analysis and to expansion of national
and regional energy statistical databases. Also, by raising
awareness of the need to follow a sustainable development
approach in the formulation of energy projects, pro-
grammes and strategies, it will help countries, particularly
developing countries, to define an integrated approach
towards energy development and sustainability.
1,600
1,400
US$/month per household
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0 0%
Low
Fig. 1. Average income and monthly household energy expenditures by income levels, Brazil, 1996 [8].
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I. Vera, L. Langlois / Energy 32 (2007) 875–882
4.1. Indicators of the social dimension
There are major social issues linked to energy use,
including poverty, quality of life, education, demographic
transition, indoor pollution, health, and gender and age-
related implications. The social dimension of sustainable
energy development reflects the need for people all over the
world to have access to basic energy services in the form of
commercial energy at affordable rates. Energy indicators of
the social dimension are particularly important to many
developing countries that still have considerable shares of
population without modern energy services.
Two themes are considered under the social dimension—
equity and health. Social equity is one of the principal
values underlying sustainable development, involving the
degree of fairness and inclusiveness with which energy
resources are distributed, energy systems are made
accessible, and pricing schemes are formulated to ensure
both availability and affordability. Energy should be
available to all at a fair price. The issue of equity is
addressed under the sub-themes of affordability, accessi-
bility and disparity. Lack of or limited access (accessibility)
to energy services marginalizes poor people and seriously
limits their ability to improve their living conditions, and
this is highlighted in the JPOI. Lack of electricity usually
means, among other things, inadequate illumination,
limited telecommunications, no refrigeration and limited
possibilities for home or cottage-based industries. Limited
income (affordability) may force households to use
traditional fuel and inefficient technologies, and results in
disparities of both access and affordability. Health impacts
are addressed under the sub-theme of safety. The produc-
tion of energy can involve accidents at different steps of the
fuel cycle. At the household level, families in poor
communities may be exposed to indoor air pollution from
the combustion of traditional or non-commercial fuels used
for cooking and heating. Fire accidents are also common
from the use of candles for lighting.
16%
Average Income 5250
14% Energy Expenditures 14%
Expenditure as share of Income
12%
10%
9%
8%
7%
6% 6%
4%
2% 2%
Low-Mid Middle Mid-High High
Income Levels
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I. Vera, L. Langlois / Energy 32 (2007) 875–882
Fig. 1 graphs the energy indicator ‘share of household
income spent on fuel and electricity’ (SOC2) for Brazil. The
indicator addresses the issues of affordability and disparity
under the theme of social equity. Monthly income and
energy expenditures are shown for five different levels of
income (bars). The figure also shows the share of income
that is spent on energy services at each level of income. The
data for Brazil indicate that the segments of the society
with lower incomes use a larger share of their monthly
income to satisfy their basic energy needs. Energy costs
thus have an impact on how basic needs can be satisfied
and may limit the amount of income available for
education or health care, for example. This figure also
suggests that where subsidies exist or are contemplated,
they may not be sufficient or appropriately targeted to
improve this condition appreciably.
4.2. Indicators of the economic dimension
The availability and reliability of energy services is
indispensable for securing economic growth. All sectors of
the economy—including the residential, commercial, trans-
portation, service and agricultural sectors—depend on
secure and sufficient energy services. Job availability,
industrial productivity, urban and rural development and
all major economic activities are strongly affected by
energy input. Electricity particularly is an important and
sometimes irreplaceable input to modern productive
activities, dissemination of information and other service
industries.
The energy indicators in the economic dimension
consider two themes: use and production patterns, and
security of supply. Within the theme of use and production
patterns the following sub-themes are addressed: overall
use and productivity, supply efficiency, production, end
use, fuel mix and prices. The security theme includes
dependency on imports and strategic fuel stocks.
Overall use and productivity are issues addressed by the
major aggregated indicators of energy use per capita and
per GDP. Per capita energy use reflects the aggregate
energy intensity of a society. Energy use per unit of GDP is
a marker of aggregate energy intensity of the economy.
Much attention is paid to aggregate intensities in defining
the sustainability of consumption trends. However, caution
is warranted in the interpretation of these indicators since
aggregate intensities depend on the energy intensities of
economic sectors and activities and also on other factors
such as climate, geography and the structure of the
economy. Supply efficiency is addressed by an indicator
on efficiency of energy conversion and distribution, which
can be used to monitor energy efficiency in transformation
processes such as power stations, and refineries. Production
indicators look at the energy being produced compared
with the indigenous levels of energy resources.
End-use energy efficiencies and intensities are important
issues affecting energy systems and defining sustainability
trends. By reducing quantities of energy consumed without
879
sacrificing socio-economic growth, improvements in energy
efficiencies translate into progress towards sustainable
development since investments in energy infrastructure
and expenses in fuel costs can be reduced as well as
environmental impacts. Efficiency improvements can be
achieved by changes in energy-related technologies and
processes. Improvements in energy intensities are realized
by higher energy efficiency and by shifts in economic
structures, in the fuel mix and in consumer behaviour.
Three indicators related to fuel mix address the issue of
energy diversification. These indicators can provide de-
tailed information about fuel shares in primary and final
energy use and in electricity generation and generating
capacity. The indicators are specified for overall, non-
carbon and renewable energy shares.
The prices of end-use energy by fuel and sector have
obvious economic importance. Efficient energy pricing is
key to efficient energy supply and use and socially efficient
levels of pollution abatement. Energy prices and related
subsidies and taxes can encourage efficiency of energy use
or improve access levels, or they can generate inefficiencies
in the supply, distribution and use of energy. While
relatively high prices for commercial fuels can be seen as
a barrier to access, prices that cover the cost of delivery are
necessary for attracting investment in a secure and reliable
energy supply.
Addressing energy security is one of the major objectives
in the sustainable development criteria of many countries.
Interruptions of energy supply can cause serious financial
and economic losses. To support the goals of sustainable
development, energy supply should be reliable, sufficient,
and affordable. The monitoring of trends of net energy
imports and the availability of appropriate stocks of
critical fuels are useful for assessing energy security.
Fig. 2 shows the decomposition of the overall aggregate
energy intensity of Thailand. The graph shows an example
related to ‘intensities’ (ECO1, ECO6–ECO10) and illus-
trates the advantages of disaggregating these indicators to
isolate the main factors affecting the aggregate energy
intensity. These include the activity effect, which refers to
overall growth of the economy as measured by GDP; the
structural effect, which refers to changes in the structure of
the economy or the contributions of the main economic
sectors; and pure energy intensity, which refers to efficiency
effects resulting from changes in technology efficiency, fuel
mix, energy-saving policies, etc. Decomposition analysis
allows the separation of the activity effect from structural
and pure intensity effects.1 The changes in energy use from
year to year are depicted in the chart by the bars. The
overall effect of these factors is captured by the changes in
the aggregate energy intensity with respect to 1990
(1990 ¼ 1.0) as shown by the intensity index represented
by the curve.
1
The decomposition analysis is based on a Divisia Index approach
[9,10].
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880 I. Vera, L. Langlois / Energy 32 (2007) 875–882
250
Activity effect
200
Structural effect
Intensity effect
150
Energy use changes, PJ Agg. EnergyIntensity
100
50
0
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
-50
-100
-150
Fig. 2. Decomposition of aggregate energy intensity of Thailand [11]. Note: the term of interaction is not shown.
A positive structural effect implies a structural shift to
more energy-intensive economic sectors like the industrial
sector or even more energy-intensive industries within the
manufacturing sector. It also means that the share of
energy-intensive sectors to GDP has increased compared to
the base year. A negative structural effect indicates that the
energy-intensive sectors have decreased their share of GDP
compared with that in the base year.
The pure energy-intensity effect measures the improve-
ment in energy efficiency, changes in technology and fuel
mix, and other factors that are not related to activity or
structure. A positive effect signifies a higher energy use per
unit of GDP implying worsening energy efficiency while a
negative pure intensity effect indicates an improvement in
energy use per unit of GDP.
The activity and structural effects held positive values
throughout the period, indicating the strong industrializa-
tion process of Thailand during this period and the shift of
the economy towards more energy-intensive sectors. In fact,
during this period, the share of the manufacturing industry
in GDP climbed sharply from 29% in 1990 to 36% in 2000.
A closer examination of the structural changes in the
manufacturing sector shows that the share of energy-
intensive sectors increased from 20% to 27% in the same
period. This is a typical pattern of energy use and efficiency
for developing countries in the industrialization stage.
Pure intensity effect, on the other hand, maintained
consistently negative values, indicating efficiency improve-
ments with respect to the 1990 levels (the chosen base year)
resulting from the very effective energy-efficiency policies
implemented by Thailand during the period. In fact, this
effect explains, in part, the net 4% decline in aggregate
energy intensity between 1990 and 1994. However, over the
whole 1990–2000 period, the activity and structural effects
dominated, leading to a net increase in aggregate energy
intensity during this longer period.
Further investigation and implementation of disaggre-
gated energy-intensity indicators by sectors (industrial,
agricultural, service and transportation) would allow even
1.2
Intensity Index (1990 = 1.0)
1.1
1
0.9
0.8
more precise determination of the reasons for the changes
observed in the intensities.
4.3. Indicators of the environmental dimension
Energy production, transport and use lead to important
anthropogenic pressures on the environment, ranging from
climate change, deforestation, air, water and soil pollution.
Many of the environmental effects from energy-related
activities are long term. The environmental impacts from
energy use can occur at all levels–household, workplace,
community and city, national, regional and global.
Environmental impacts of energy activities vary greatly
depending on how energy is produced and used, the fuel
mix, structure of the energy system and related energy-
regulatory actions and pricing structures.
The energy indicators of the environmental dimension
address the themes of energy-related impacts on the
atmosphere, water and land. For assessing the atmosphere,
greenhouse gas emissions, linked to climate change, and
pollutants that degrade air quality are considered. The
theme of water specifically covers water quality as
determined by contaminant discharges. The land theme
addresses soil quality directly as well as deforestation and
waste generation and disposal.
At the global level, the trend of increasing greenhouse
gas emissions is a major environmental consideration with
potential long-term consequences for the earth’s climate.
Fig. 3 shows carbon emissions from the power sector in
France, Japan, Germany and the USA as a function of per
capita electricity use for the 1971–2001 period. This figure
illustrates the implementation of the indicator ‘GHG
emissions’ (ENV1).
Even though electricity use increased at a rapid pace
during the 30-year period in these four countries (all
members of the OECD), carbon emissions per unit of
electricity produced have decreased considerably (20% in
the USA) or dramatically (36% in Germany, 45% in Japan
and 89% in France). The decreases resulted from

I. Vera, L. Langlois / Energy 32 (2007) 875–882
300
250
1971
Germany
200
Grams C / kWh
1971
150
100
France
50
0
2,000
Fig. 3. Carbon emissions from power sector and per capita electricity use [12].
improvements in environmental features and efficiencies of
technologies and from changes in the generating fuel mix
towards low-carbon-based fuel use. Therefore, this figure
shows the different paths followed by these countries to
achieve a relative reduction in carbon emissions while
continuing to satisfy an increasing demand for electricity.
The indicator illustrates, to a certain extent, the effective-
ness of policies implemented in the power sector of these
countries to reduce carbon emissions per kWh. The
situation for these countries reflects a relative decoupling
between an environmentally negative parameter (carbon
emissions from power sector) and the corresponding energy
use. This represents a desirable trend for the society from a
sustainable energy development point of view.
5. Implementation in selected countries
The procedures and processes to be followed in
developing and using EISD vary from country to country,
depending on country-specific conditions, national energy
priorities and sustainability and development criteria and
objectives. In addition, the implementation process de-
pends on the existing statistical capability, expertise and
the availability of energy data and other related informa-
tion for decision making. Because the process requires the
allocation of human and financial resources, a pragmatic
and cost-effective approach is essential.
It was therefore important, before publishing a manual
on EISD implementation, to test their applicability under a
variety of national circumstances. To this end, a set of
coordinated case studies testing the effective implementa-
tion of the EISD were developed by national teams from
Brazil, Cuba, Lithuania, Mexico, Russian Federation,
Slovak Republic and Thailand. These country teams
defined relevant energy and sustainable development
priorities, selected appropriate sets of energy indicators
and applied these indicators to the analysis of energy
ARTICLE IN PRESS
881
1971
USA
2001
2001
Japan
2001
2001
5,000 8,000 11,000 14,000
kWh per capita
policies geared to attaining priority goals related to
sustainable development. The goal of the exercise was
twofold: to test the adequacy of national statistics and
statistical capabilities for the implementation of the EISD,
and to test its utility for specific policy analysis. This effort
ended early in 2005 with final reports summarizing the
findings.
Although most of the teams encountered problems with
data availability and consistency for a number of
indicators, all of the teams were able to construct case
studies using the EISD and were able to prepare reports
with useful information and analysis.
Moreover, the seven-country case studies have already
sparked a number of national initiatives that correspond
to the goals of Agenda 21 and the JPOI, including
improvements in national energy statistics progra-
mmes and joint ventures among energy or statistical offices
to develop or expand databases incorporating the EISD.
In particular, Cuba, Brazil and Mexico have reported
changes already in the national statistical procedures or
databases resulting from this experience or ongoing plans
for the future incorporation of relevant energy indicators in
their national energy and environmental statistical pro-
grammes.
It is important to understand that each country needs to
select the energy indicators within the proposed core set
that are most relevant to the country’s particular energy
system or to the policy priorities and that might be useful in
assessing and monitoring the status and progress of specific
strategies towards a more sustainable energy future.
Furthermore, additional energy indicators specifically
designed to address conditions or priorities unique to a
given country might need to be developed. Also, the
extension of the analysis into the future by the use of likely
scenarios developed with modelling tools allows a more
comprehensive monitoring and analysis of sustainability
trends and objectives.
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The proposed core set of energy indicators represents a
quantitative tool necessary but not sufficient for monitor-
ing progress and for defining long-term strategies. There
are a number of issues that are difficult to quantify or are
more qualitative by nature and that need to be taken into
consideration in any decision-making process and in the
final formulation of major energy policies. These relate
especially to the institutional dimension of sustainable
development and to the energy infrastructure of the
country. Additionally, a comprehensive analysis of a
country’s energy sector should be part of an integrated
national programme or strategy for sustainable energy
development. Therefore, the analysis resulting from the use
of the ESID tool needs to be put into a larger political and
policy perspective for effective decision making.
6. Conclusions
The EISD represent an effective tool for policy makers
to evaluate and design programmes and strategies and to
monitor progress towards a more sustainable future at a
national level. The indicators can assist countries in their
efforts to assess progress made in implementing sustainable
development strategies in the area of energy and can
further identify specific areas in which focused measures
and policies should be directed. They are designed to be
used with least-cost data available, but it is hoped that this
paves the way for more concerted efforts at data collection
and coordination among relevant institutions at the
national level. The examples provided in this paper are
limited illustrations of the applicability of energy indicators
for specific issues and areas, but do not reflect the benefits
of a more complete indicator-based analysis. The case
studies developed in seven countries demonstrate the
advantages of using this integrated approach in the
formulation and implementation of EISD.
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