Editorial Strategic Planning for Energy and the Environment: Theories, Practice and the Future

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the importance of strategic planning in general and its application in energy and the environment in particular. In the contemporary world, planning is so common that we cannot even manage everyday life without plan. Strategic planning is a formalized, structured, planned way to manage planning from formulation to implementation, evaluation, and control. When we talk about energy, we mostly talk about the various forms (physical) of energy such as nuclear, thermal, chemical, electrical, or other forms which create and transform energy. The sources of energy can be solar, wind, water, nuclear, electromagnetism or related to fossil – coal, gas, petroleum etc. The world rarely has sufficient energy therefore, strategic planning for energy is essential to sustain and maintain the energy supply and demand. The environment is our entire surroundings including the land, air, water, or the combination of all biotic and abiotic factors of the planet. We have ample evidence that anthropogenic disturbances have already destroyed the balance of nature, as a result the global climatic pattern is changed, and there has been unprecedented damage to our ecosystem. Such severe impacts due to global environmental change mean that it is extremely urgent that we formulate a strategic plan (or plans) to protect the environment. There are as yet no alternatives for Planet Earth, therefore we need planned strategies to minimize the environmental problems. This review outlines why strategic planning is so important for the future of energy and the environment since they go hand in hand.