Energy systems must deliver clean, secure and affordable energy amid rising disruption. These five priorities chart a path towards strengthening security, equity and sustainability moving forward.

1. Adopt stable, adaptive policy frameworks that drive long-term investment and support cooperation.

Design globally aligned policy frameworks that adapt to local contexts and are reinforced by strategic partnerships, tailoring incentives to national strengths and enabling regional cooperation on infrastructure, supply chains and energy integration.

Example: India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission (2023)¹²⁰ provides targeted incentives based on each state’s industrial strengths, such as Gujarat’s petrochemical capacity, Tamil Nadu’s renewables base and Odisha’s steel production, supporting domestic manufacturing and export potential while aligning with national and global decarbonization goals.

2. Modernize energy infrastructure, especially grids and storage.

Modernize grid infrastructure and planning using digital tools to better integrate renewables, storage and distributed assets, ensuring clean energy can be delivered reliably and efficiently across power and fuels. Meanwhile, minimize energy losses and improve overall system efficiency.

Example: Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Electricity Company¹²¹ installed 11 million smart meters, improving real-time energy monitoring, enhancing grid reliability and laying the foundation for increased renewable integration.

3. Invest in skilled talent to help boost innovation and execution capacity.

Align education, vocational training and workforce planning with real-time labour market needs to cultivate a skilled, inclusive workforce that can support clean energy deployment, energy efficiency upgrades and a just transition.

Example: Australia’s Clean Energy Training Hubs¹²² partner with technical and further education institutions (TAFEs), energy companies and unions to deliver practical training in solar, wind and battery installations – bridging the gap between market demand and workforce supply.

4. Accelerate clean technology commercialization, especially in hard-to-abate sectors.

Cultivate international collaboration in R&D and innovation, and link R&D, pilot support and early offtake to reduce testing time, hasten identification of unviable technologies and accelerate the scaling of breakthrough solutions in heavy industry, transport and hydrogen (including technologies that optimize energy use across industrial processes).

Example: The US Department of Energy’s $7 billion investment in regional hydrogen hubs connects public-private partnerships to scale early-stage hydrogen technologies, supporting industrial decarbonization across transport and manufacturing.¹²³

5. Enhance capital investment in developing economies.

Evolve beyond isolated projects by combining risk-sharing tools, local capital market development and targeted public-private platforms, making clean energy and energy efficiency investment more viable where it’s needed most.

Example: India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) serves as a sovereign-backed platform that partners with global investors to co-finance infrastructure, using credit enhancements to de-risk clean energy projects and attract private capital at scale. Together, these five actions can help deliver a more resilient, inclusive and investable energy transition – globally and locally.