An analysis of challenges to the low-carbon energy transition toward sustainable energy development using an IFCM-TOPSIS approach: A case study

As countries worldwide grapple with the urgent need to mitigate climate change, adopting low-carbon energy sources has become a top global priority. This priority is particularly emphasized in the European Union (EU), with various initiatives, policies, and regulations to promote renewable energy sources and reduce carbon emissions. Despite these efforts, the transition to a low-carbon energy future has faced several challenges, such as the high cost of renewable energy technologies, land use, and technical issues. These challenges require decision-makers to consider and address various factors to ensure sustainable and low-carbon energy development. In this context, the present study identified challenges to the low-carbon energy transition through a literature review from 2013 to 2023. The study then set out a novel intuitionistic fuzzy cognitive map method to map the interactions of identified challenges and analyze the case study performance in dealing with the challenges under three scenarios: people first, technology first, and duet. Subsequently, the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method was applied to find the best scenario according to performance analysis. The results indicated that the most significant challenge is investment, followed by short-termism, and reformation, out of seventeen identified challenges. Results also indicated that the duet scenario was the best, and broad conclusions and policy implementations were provided according to the obtained results.