World Energy Council Nigeria
World Energy Scenarios
Exploring possible futures for energy to support resilient decision-making in an uncertain world.
Scenarios
Exploring Possible Futures for Energy
In a rapidly changing world, long-term planning requires more than predictions—it requires the ability to prepare for multiple possible futures.
The World Energy Scenarios provide a strategic framework that helps energy leaders, policymakers, businesses, and researchers navigate uncertainty and make more informed decisions about the future of energy.
Rather than predicting what will happen or prescribing what should happen, the scenarios explore a range of plausible futures. They encourage broader thinking, challenge conventional assumptions, and support more resilient decision-making in an increasingly complex global energy landscape.
For nearly two decades, the World Energy Council has developed global energy scenarios to foster strategic dialogue and deepen understanding of the forces shaping energy systems worldwide.
Why World Energy Scenarios Matter
- Explore plausible pathways for energy transition at global, regional, and national levels.
- Stimulate strategic thinking and encourage new approaches to energy leadership.
- Challenge conventional assumptions and think beyond existing policies and solutions.
- Identify emerging opportunities while testing the resilience of strategies, investments, and policy choices under different future conditions.
Planning for an Uncertain Future
The World Energy Scenarios are not forecasts—they are strategic tools for exploration, learning, and better decision-making. As the pace of change continues to accelerate, the ability to anticipate uncertainty and prepare for multiple outcomes has become essential for shaping the future of energy.
World Energy Scenario Foundations 2024
The global energy landscape continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace. Recent events—including the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, shifting geopolitical dynamics, the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, and the increasing impacts of climate change—have fundamentally reshaped economies and energy systems around the world.
The World Energy Scenario Foundations 2024 built on the Council's previous scenario work, incorporating new insights and lessons from these global developments. Rather than offering fixed forecasts, the Foundations present key questions and strategic considerations to help leaders navigate uncertainty.
Long-Term Energy Scenarios
The World Energy Council introduced its long-term scenarios in 2016, exploring possible energy futures through to 2060 using three distinct pathways: Modern Jazz, Unfinished Symphony, and Hard Rock.
In 2019, the Council refreshed its scenario narratives with a 2040 time horizon, placing greater emphasis on the role of disruptive technologies, innovation, and emerging trends in accelerating energy transitions.
COVID-19 Post-Crisis Scenarios
In response to the unprecedented disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Energy Council developed medium-term scenarios to explore possible pathways through 2025: Pause, Rewind, Re-Record, and Fast-Forward.
These post-crisis scenarios complement the Council's long-term scenario work by helping organisations understand how different recovery pathways could influence energy systems, economies, and societies.