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Transition towards sustainability in a post-conflict country: a neo-institutional perspective on the Lebanese case

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Abstract

In this paper, we aim to understand how transition towards sustainability processes might arise and develop in a post-conflict country. We analyse the case of the development of renewable energy in Lebanon to understand how green initiatives might emerge, without a prior master plan in a country that was torn by war. We focus on the structured action being developed in cooperation with the UNDP to enable Lebanon to fulfil its international commitment of achieving a 12% target of renewable energy in its energy mix by 2020. The process began in 2010 with the installation of photovoltaic systems in the capital Beirut. This initiative has led to the creation of what appears to be today a viable business ecosystem which makes the 12% a target that seems within reach. We analyse this “success” using a sociotechnical approach with a neo-institutional perspective. We show that the support of international agencies in post-conflict reconstruction modifies radically the dynamic evolution of sociotechnical regimes and links the transition context to the different phases leading to the institutionalization of a new technology. Finally, we propose a framework based on a critical interpretation of the multi-level perspective for the sustainability transition process in post-conflict countries.

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Notes

  1. In 2018, UNHCR estimates the exact number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon at 991,917. In addition, there is a “circular immigration” involving another 300,000 to 400,000 Syrian “commuters”, who traditionally come and go to work temporarily in agriculture and construction. It should be noted that Lebanese officials use often the number of 1,500,000. An accurate count of the refugees in Lebanon is practically impossible, for unlike in Jordan, the Lebanese authorities follow a “no-camp policy” that puts a comprehensive census out of reach.

  2. 1,916,100 persons in 2017 (http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/lebanon-population/cities/)

  3. https://knoema.com/LBPS2014/population-statistics-of-lebanon-2014?tsId=1000100

  4. Israel evacuated in 1985 most of the occupied territories retaining control of a strip of territory along the southern border. In 2000, Israel withdrew almost completely its forces from Lebanon keeping the control of the area of Shebaa Farms located near the border.

  5. https://www.edl.gov.lb/page.php?pid=37

  6. See full list and profiles of interviewees in Appendix 1

  7. The CDR was entrusted by the political authorities with the task of preparing a national reconstruction strategy and implementing the subsequent recovery program.

  8. The emergency Power Sector Master Plan for the years 1992–2002 focused on the rehabilitation and expansion of power generation as well as the restoration of the transmission and distribution capacity.

  9. According to UNDP, 33% of the reconstruction budget (USD 4 billion) was allocated to electricity sector (UNDP 2000).

  10. According to the UNDP (2000), the demand was growing at the time at a rate of 4–6% annually.

  11. In 1996, for example this intensity was evaluated at 0.35 Toe/1000 USD.

  12. The pivot of environmental and sustainable activities in Lebanon is without any doubt the UNDP. It deals exclusively with the Lebanese Ministry of Environment (MoE) that was created 1 year before the ratification of the UNFCCC. This exclusive collaboration continued until it became clear that the MoE, given the prevailing political climate, had difficulty coordinating with other ministries to inject sustainable development principles into their policies and programs.

  13. LEB/95/G32 “Enabling activities (building capacities for GHG inventory and action plans in response to UNFCCC communications obligations)”.

  14. As the preparation of this type of documents needs considerable activities, the Conference of Parties (COP) decided during its first session to facilitate the task of developing countries by giving priority to the funding of the agreed full cost they incurred to comply with their obligations. The project LEB/95/G32 falls within this framework.

  15. This decision was taken after Lebanon’s first national communication to the UNFCCC in 1999. The document showed that energy was among the sectors responsible of the largest GHG emissions in Lebanon: transport accounted for 34% of CO2 emissions, electricity for 31% and industry for 24% (UNDP 1996).

  16. Supply-side energy management looks at the efficiency with which the end-user is supplied while demand-side management aims to influence the behaviour of consumers using different methods including financial incentives.

  17. The Lebanese ministry of Energy and Water launched officially “net-metering” in 2011.

  18. Megawatt peak

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ESA Business School, Beirut, Lebanon

    Abdel-Maoula Chaar, Aliaa Khoury & Matteo Nicolas

  2. NEOMA Business School, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France

    Diana Mangalagiu

  3. Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Diana Mangalagiu

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  1. Abdel-Maoula Chaar
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  2. Diana Mangalagiu
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  3. Aliaa Khoury
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  4. Matteo Nicolas
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Correspondence to Abdel-Maoula Chaar.

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This article is part of a Special Issue on Win-Win Solutions to Climatic Change edited by Diana Mangalagiu, Alexander Bisaro, Jochen Hinkel and Joan David Tàbara

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Table 2 List of interviewees
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Chaar, AM., Mangalagiu, D., Khoury, A. et al. Transition towards sustainability in a post-conflict country: a neo-institutional perspective on the Lebanese case. Climatic Change 160, 691–709 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-019-02478-7

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