How do beliefs and attitudes of people influence energy conservation behavior in Pakistan?

Policymakers in developing countries like Pakistan mostly ignore the behavioral aspects of climate change mitigation, whereas literature is also deficient in advocating evidence-based mitigation strategies. This study aims to analyze the impact of personality traits, social norms, and attitudes on energy conservation behavior. Face-to-face interviews of 361 households are conducted in the capital city of Pakistan using random sampling. According to the characteristics of the data, the ordered logistic regression model is applied. The results reveal that education and gender do not contribute significantly toward energy conservation. In contrast, the behavior is more influenced by convenient lifestyle, the number of vehicles, distance of residence from the workplace, income, perception of energy security, and availability of transport. Furthermore, knowledge about sustainability and age is also critical to influencing energy conservation behavior. Therefore, the study recommends using different mediums to enhance the knowledge base of households about energy conservation and environmental sustainability, aligning the urban planning in view of location choices and use of public transport.

Energy security for socio-economic and environmental sustainability in Pakistan.

One of the prime concern of policy makers should be to ensure energy security in the country. The case of Pakistan is interesting in a sense that with the growing age of the country, the increasing reliance on imported sources of energy is resulting in huge demand-supply gap which is evident in suppressed demand for electricity and natural gas. It has social, economic and environmental consequences. Most of the countries in the world have shifted their focus from imported to indigenous resources which are more often cheap, environmental friendly and provide competitiveness. The study reveals, through exploring secondary data, descriptive analysis, Johanson Cointegration and Granger Causality test results based on error correction model, energy insecurity is damaging for environment and socio-economic conditions. The study suggests policy makers to move toward long run energy security to get environmental and socio-economic sustainability in the country through minimizing reliance on imported energy and promoting energy efficiency.