Transitioning to a low carbon energy future is essential to meet the Paris Agreement targets and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To understand how societies can undertake this transition, energy models have been developed to explore future energy scenarios. These models often focus on the techno-economic aspects of the transition and overlook the long-term implications on both society and the natural environment. Without a holistic approach, it is impossible to evaluate the trade-offs, as well as the co-benefits, between decarbonisation and other policy goals. This paper presents the Energy Scenario Evaluation (ESE) framework which can be used to assess the impact of energy scenarios on society and the natural environment. This conceptual framework utilises interdisciplinary qualitative and quantitative methods to determine whether an energy scenario is likely to lead to a publicly acceptable and sustainable energy transition. Using the SDGs, this paper illustrates how energy transitions are interconnected with human development and the importance of incorporating environmental and socio-economic data into energy models to design energy scenarios which meet other policy priorities. We discuss a variety of research methods which can be used to evaluate spatial, environmental, and social impacts of energy transitions. By showcasing where these impacts will be experienced, the ESE framework can be used to facilitate engagement and decision-making between policymakers and local communities, those who will be directly affected by energy transitions. Outputs of the ESE framework can therefore perform an important role in shaping feasible and energy transitions which meet the Paris Agreement targets and SDGs.

过渡到低碳能源未来对于实现《巴黎协定》目标和可持续发展目标 (SDG) 至关重要。为了了解社会如何进行这种转变，已经开发了能源模型来探索未来的能源情景。这些模型通常侧重于转型的技术经济方面，而忽略了对社会和自然环境的长期影响。如果没有整体方法，就不可能评估脱碳与其他政策目标之间的权衡以及共同利益。本文介绍了能源情景评估 (ESE) 框架，该框架可用于评估能源情景对社会和自然环境的影响。该概念框架利用跨学科的定性和定量方法来确定能源情景是否可能导致公众接受和可持续的能源转型。本文使用可持续发展目标说明了能源转型如何与人类发展相互关联，以及将环境和社会经济数据纳入能源模型以设计满足其他政策优先事项的能源情景的重要性。我们讨论了各种可用于评估能源转型的空间、环境和社会影响的研究方法。通过展示这些影响将在何处发生，ESE 框架可用于促进决策者和当地社区之间的参与和决策，这些社区将直接受到能源转型的影响。