Multicriteria Decision Aiding for Sustainable Energy and Environmental Planning

CALL FOR PAPERS
Multicriteria Decision Aiding for Sustainable Energy and Environmental Planning

Journal: Socio‑Economic Planning Sciences
Publisher: Elsevier
CiteScore: 10.3
Impact Factor: 5.4
Submission Deadline: 31 January 2027

Introduction
This Special Issue focuses on Multicriteria Decision Aiding (MCDA) as a key tool for sustainable energy and environmental planning. It invites high‑quality theoretical and applied research that uses MCDA to address complex, “wicked” problems at the intersection of energy, environment, and socio‑economic development. The issue aims to bridge advanced decision‑support methods with real‑world planning challenges, improving transparency, stakeholder engagement, and policy‑relevance in energy transitions, environmental governance, and sustainability planning.

Guest Editors
River Huang (Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, Switzerland)
Russell McKenna (ETH Zurich, Switzerland)
Jutta Geldermann (University of Duisburg‑Essen, Germany)
Valentin Bertsch (Ruhr University Bochum, Germany)

Key Themes / Topic Areas

Submissions invited on (but not limited to):

• Multicriteria decision aiding in energy policy, energy transition, and renewable infrastructure planning.

• MCDA applications in environmental management, climate adaptation, and natural‑resource governance.

• Sustainable planning for the Water–Energy–Food–Ecosystem Nexus and the Circular Economy (e.g., waste management, urban mobility, agriculture).

• Integration of MCDA with:

  • Data mining, decision support systems, fuzzy systems, game theory, and machine learning.

  • Group decision‑making and participatory modelling.

  • Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

  • Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and energy system models.

• Methodological innovations in MCDA for handling uncertainty, stakeholder conflicts, and socio‑economic impacts.

Submission Process & Key Dates

• Submission deadline: 31 January 2027

• Submission portal:

  • Elsevier Editorial Manager for Socio‑Economic Planning Sciences

  • Article type: “VSI: EWG‑MCDA”

• All papers undergo double‑blind peer review.

• Accepted papers published online as soon as accepted and grouped under the Special Issue.

Guidelines & Contact

• Author guidelines:
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/socio-economic-planning-sciences/publish/guide-for-authors

• Guest Editors:

  • River Huang, Russell McKenna, Jutta Geldermann, Valentin Bertsch

About the Journal
Socio‑Economic Planning Sciences (SEPS), Elsevier, publishes interdisciplinary research on the socio‑economic and environmental dimensions of planning, policy, and strategic decision‑making, with a strong focus on analytical and decision‑support approaches.

ServiceSetu Academics — Premier Platform for Academic Opportunities & Research Collaboration

Visit official website of the publisher