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

IAEA Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Energy indicators for sustainable development : guidelines and methodologies.
— Vienna : International Atomic Energy Agency, 2005.
p. ; 24 cm. 
ISBN 92–0–116204–9
Includes bibliographical references
1. Sustainable development. 2. Power resources. 3. Energy 
consumption — Environmental aspects. I. International Atomic 
Energy Agency.
IAEAL
05–00389

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FOREWORD
This publication is the product of an international initiative to define a set of Energy
Indicators for Sustainable Development (EISD) and corresponding methodologies and
guidelines. The successful completion of this work is the result of an intensive effort led
by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in cooperation with the United
Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the International
Energy Agency (IEA), Eurostat and the European Environment Agency (EEA).
The thematic framework, guidelines, methodology sheets and energy indicators set out
in this publication reflect the expertise of these various agencies, recognized worldwide
as leaders in energy and environmental statistics and analysis. While each agency has an
active indicator programme, one goal of this joint endeavour has been to provide users
with a consensus by leading experts on definitions, guidelines and methodologies for the
development and worldwide use of a single set of energy indicators.
No set of energy indicators can be final and definitive. To be useful, indicators must
evolve over time to fit country-specific conditions, priorities and capabilities. The
purpose of this publication is to present one set of EISD for consideration and use,
particularly at the national level, and to serve as a starting point in the development of a
more comprehensive and universally accepted set of energy indicators relevant to
sustainable development. It is hoped that countries will use the EISD to assess their
energy systems and to track their progress towards nationally defined sustainable
development goals and objectives. It is also hoped that users of the information presented
in this publication will contribute to refinements of energy indicators for sustainable
development by adding their own unique perspectives to what is presented herein.
The work of devising energy indicators in the context of sustainable development was
initiated in 1999 by Arshad Khan and Garegin Aslanian at the Planning and Economic
Studies Section of the IAEA. They spearheaded the complex process of selecting,
defining and validating an appropriate set of energy-related indicators consonant with the
larger effort on Indicators of Sustainable Development (ISD) developed by Member
States of the United Nations and international organizations under the umbrella of
Agenda 21 and the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD).
Their preliminary work was presented by the IAEA in cooperation with the IEA in the
9th session of the CSD in 2001. This effort was followed by an international initiative to
refine the energy indicators, created as a partnership in 2002 and registered with the
World Summit on Sustainable Development.
Under this partnership, an ad hoc interagency expert group started consultations to
develop a consensus on a single set of energy indicators, methodologies and guidelines
for general use. The members of this group were Kathleen Abdalla from UNDESA,
Roeland Mertens and Rosemary Montgomery from Eurostat, Aphrodite Mourelatou and
Peter Taylor from the EEA, Fridtjof Unander from the IEA and Ivan Vera (Project
Coordinator) from the IAEA.
Over the past two years, these committee members have made outstanding contributions
to the substance and quality of the present report and its attempt to circumscribe a
challenging emerging subject. Their dedication to finishing a unified report with
worldwide applicability has ensured its success, and their congenial and professional
spirit of cooperation was crucial for reaching consensus for the publication of this five-

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EDITORIAL NOTE
In this unedited publication, the use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any
judgement by the publisher, the IAEA, as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities and
institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries.
The mention of names of specific companies or products (whether or not indicated as registered) does not imply
any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the
part of the IAEA.
The authors are responsible for having obtained the necessary permission for the IAEA to reproduce, translate
or use material from sources already protected by copyrights.
Material prepared by authors who are in contractual relation with governments is copyrighted by the IAEA, as
publisher, only to the extent permitted by the appropriate national regulations.
agency report. Their work also benefited greatly from the contributions of others,
including Kui-nang Mak from UNDESA; Carmen Difiglio from the IEA; August
Götzfried, Nikolaos Roubanis and Peter Tavoularidis from Eurostat; Tobias Wiesenthal,
Andre Jol, David Stanners and Jeff Huntington from the EEA; Hans-Holger Rogner,
Lucille Langlois, Greg Csullog, Irej Jalal and Ferenc Toth from the IAEA; and Ellen
Bergschneider, who provided editorial support.

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