Energy Indicators for Sustainable Development: Guidelines and Methodologies International Atomic Energy Agency United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs International Energy Agency Eurostat European Environment Agency

Oil Crises and Climate Challenges: 30 Years of Energy Use in IEA Countries. Paris, 
France: International Energy Agency. 

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In the 2004 edition of the World Energy Outlook,
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the IEA introduced an energy 
development index (EDI) to better understand the role that energy plays in human 
development. The index is intended to be used as a simple composite measure of a 
country or region’s progress in its transition to modern fuels and of the degree of 
maturity of its energy end use. The EDI seeks to capture the quality of energy services 
as well as their quantity and can be used to assess the need for policies to promote the 
use of modern fuels and to stimulate investment in energy infrastructure in each 
region. It is calculated in such a way as to mirror the Human Development Index 
(HDI) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 
2.3.3 Eurostat 
Eurostat has collaborated with the IEA on energy-data collection for more than 25 
years, and more recently has collaborated on indicator development. As in most IEA 
Member countries, since the oil crises of the 1970s, energy policy in the European 
Union (EU) has traditionally concentrated on security and diversity of supply, energy 
efficiency, prices and competitiveness. At the European Council
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meeting in Cardiff 
in 1998, the principle of integrating environmental concerns into broader policy was 
introduced, with a particular emphasis on energy. Minimizing damage to the 
environment became of fundamental importance to the EU’s sustainable energy 
policy. This ‘Cardiff Process’ emphasized the need for indicators to measure progress 
and so raised the profile of indicator work. Eurostat publishes annually, in pocketbook 
format, integration indicators for energy based on data collected by Eurostat and the 
EEA. 
In June 2001, the European Council in Gothenburg integrated the Cardiff Process into 
a new, wider EU Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS). The SDS is based on the 
principle that the economic, social and environmental effects of all policies should be 
considered in a coordinated manner in all decision making. 
Energy issues are addressed under several of the themes of the SDS. On climate 
change, the SDS aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by increasing the 
use of renewable forms of energy. It addresses public health, where air pollution from 
the burning of fossil fuels is an important issue, and it addresses transport. Energy is 
also of primary importance for the EU’s commitments following the WSSD and the 
JPOI, for sustainable production and consumption, and for global partnership and 
good governance. 
Following the adoption of the EU SDS, the EU’s Statistical Programme Committee
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set up a Task Force on sustainable development indicators to promote a common 
approach for the European Statistical System. This Task Force is chaired by the 
‘Environment and Sustainable Development’ unit of Eurostat and is composed of 
experts from Member States, European Free Trade Area countries, various 
Commission Directorates-General and international organizations.
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IEA, 
2004. 
World Energy Outlook. Paris, France: International Energy Agency. 
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The European Council is made up of the heads of state of the EU Member States and meets at least 
every six months. 
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The Statistical Programme Committee is composed of the general-directors of the statistical 
institutions of EU Member States. 
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For more information, see http://forum.europa.eu.int/Public/irc/dsis/susdevind/home. 

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2.3.4 European Environment Agency (EEA) 
The EEA is the EU body dedicated to providing sound, independent information on 
the environment. It is a main information source for those involved in developing, 
adopting, implementing and evaluating environmental policy, and for the general 
public. 
Indicators are an important tool in the EEA’s work for assessing progress towards 
environmental protection and sustainable development. The EEA's indicator work 
covers the environmental aspect of sustainable development and is based on the so-
called DPSIR assessment framework (Driving forces, Pressures, State of the 
environment, Impacts, and societal Responses). 
The EEA has developed a set of about 25 indicators for energy and environment that 
are updated regularly. In line with the EEA’s mandate, these indicators have more of 
an environmental emphasis than those of the IEA or Eurostat
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and, taken together, 
allow assessment of progress towards environmental integration in Europe by energy 
sector. The indicators describe the development of the sector in Europe and 
implications for the environment and related policy actions. The indicators cover not 
only the current situation, but also trends and prospects; most importantly, they point 
to the conditions for change that are needed for progress towards a more sustainable 
energy policy that benefits the environment. 
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More information on the work of the EEA on energy and environment indicators is available at 
http://themes.eea.eu.int/Sectors_and_activities/energy, including the EU’s first report 
(http://reports.eea.eu.int/environmental_issue_report_2002_31/en). 

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