PRESS RELEASE: 2026 World Issues Monitor: Geopolitics – not economics – the key driver of change in turbulent energy landscape

2026 World Issues Monitor: Geopolitics – not economics – the key driver of change in turbulent energy landscape

26 March 2026, BEIJING, CHINA: The World Energy Council has today published its annual World Energy Issues Monitor at the 14th China Clean Energy Expo. Titled, “Practicing the World Energy Trilemma: Energy Transitions in 2026,” shows that geopolitics and not economics is now seen as the primary driver of energy transition. It raises a central question for leaders: where is the world energy system heading—and will it hold together? As momentum meets constraint, the focus is shifting from speed to stability in a more fragmented world.

The survey is based on the perspectives of nearly 3,000 energy leaders from over 100 countries, sampled between 24 November 2025 and 12 January 2026. It shows that even before the outbreak of the conflict across the Middle East, the global energy community sees geopolitical threats and uncertainty as the defining feature shaping the energy landscape.

In this year’s survey, perceptions around peace and geopolitical risks, trade and supply chain security increased 7.6 percentage points to 62.5%, narrowly outpacing the 4.1-point rise in economic risk and uncertainty (60.7%).

The Issues Monitor also details sharp increases in uncertainty around Public Trust in Transitions and System Risk Preparedness (+11 and +10 percentage points from 2025 respectively). As a result, progress is now seen to depend less on new pledges or commitments by official entities and instead on how energy transitions can practically be delivered in an environment of reduced cooperation and significant constraints.

Dr Angela Wilkinson, Secretary General & CEO of the World Energy Council, said: "Energy is the operating system of civilisation.  This year’s World Energy Issues Monitor marks a turning point. Energy is under strain. The real question is no longer speed, but whether the system holds as trade-offs intensify. No country can steer this alone. We are shifting fragmentation into collective navigation.

As the world moves beyond adding supply to managing whole systems in real time — it exposes harder, shifting trade-offs between security, affordability and sustainability. And without a shared understanding of affordability, nothing will scale.

It’s time to rebalance dialogue and test whether we can manage and steer the world’s most critical system together.”

The World Energy Trilemma Framework matters more than ever as a leadership tool to manage the competing demands of security, sustainability and affordability.  As geopolitical volatility reshapes transition pathways, countries are actively rebalancing their Trilemma priorities. Global peace and geopolitical risks are of greatest uncertainty across Europe, Asia and North America, while finance and investment risks are most critical across Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Read the full report: http://worldenergy.org/WEIM26

About the World Energy Issues Monitor

The World Energy Issues Monitor is a community-driven effort to refresh global common sense in energy. Each year it brings together the perspectives of energy leaders across regions, sectors, and generations to compare signals, surface blind spots, and guide more grounded action. In this 16th iteration, nearly 3000 energy leaders across over 110 countries assessed the impact and uncertainty of key transition issues shaping today’s operating environment. The Issues Monitor does not prescribe pathways. It sharpens judgement. By illuminating pressure points and emerging bright spots, it supports leaders in holding security, affordability, and sustainability together as energy systems expand and transform.

About the World Energy Council

The World Energy Council is the world's oldest independent and impartial energy leadership community. Through our Humanising Energy vision, we involve more people and communities in accelerating clean and inclusive energy transitions in all world regions.

Formed in 1923, the Council is a UN-accredited global energy body that has convened diverse interests from across the full energy ecosystem for a century. Today our global network has over 3,000 member organisations and a presence in more than 100 countries, drawn from governments, private and state corporations, academia and civil society, as well as current and future energy leaders. We collaborate on impact programmes and inform local, regional and global energy agendas in support of our enduring mission: to promote the sustainable use and supply of energy for the benefit of all people.

Find out more at www.worldenergy.org and on LinkedIn, Instagram and X.