Application of VMCM method to assess the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 7 in EU countries

Abstract

Everyday life and the workings of the economy depend on reliable and affordable energy services, such as electricity supply. Guaranteeing universal access to sustainable energy services is fundamental for socioeconomic development. This paper assessed the implementation of the sustainable development goal in the European Union countries in the seventh area "Affordable and clean energy" out of seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDG7) formulated in the document “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. To assess the implementation of the seventh objective, the VMCM method was used, which allows for the ranking and classification of objects described with many features as representing the dynamics of changes in the studied phenomenon. As a result, each EU country was assigned to one of four classes appointed by the level of goal achievement SDG7. The country with the highest value of level of goal were assigned to Class 1, while those measured the lowest were assigned to Class 4. It presented in dynamic perspective comparing changes over 9 years (since year 2012 to 2021).