Energy sources choice and environmental sustainability disputes: an evolutional graph model approach

Abstract

The present study proposes a conflict resolution methodology for energy-environment policy conflicts. The choice of energy source is primarily important in fulfilling energy requirements of the economy along with suitable technologies to be adopted to achieve low carbon objective set by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The objectives of the energy policy need to be in line with the targets of environmental policy. Failing to do so would result in energy-environment conflict especially in the economies characterized as energy deficient but also most vulnerable to environmental hazards. Energy planning and its execution without proper consideration of alternative energy sources and their environmental impact assessment would jeopardize energy and environmental policy objectives to achieve. There may emerge energy-environmental conflicts. These conflicts are of evolutional nature due to the changes in decision maker(s), options available to them and preferences changes. The complex, dynamic, and evolutional nature of these conflicts warrant an evolutional conflict resolution approach to resolve these disputes. The current study proposes an evolutional approach to conflict resolution in the framework of graph model for conflict resolution (GMCR). We apply evolutional GMCR to resolve energy-environment conflict in the case of Pakistan. The analysis unfolds how the conflict emerged and how choices of sources of electricity production by the government lead to unwanted and unfavorable situation. Moreover, how changes in the decision makers, their choices, and preferences changed the scenarios for the focal decision maker—the government. Further, study reports a suitable and viable equilibrium solution of the conflict that can be acceptable to all decision-makers in the conflict. © 2018 Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature