Misunderstanding the Politics of the Energy Transition with David B. Spence

Getting to net zero carbon emissions will require Congress to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. If that idea has wide support (and it does), why can’t Congress muster the will to do it? David Spence (University of Texas at Austin) tackles this question in his new book Climate of Contempt: How to Rescue the U.S. Energy Transition from Voter Partisanship (Columbia University Press, 2024).

Prof. Spence will discuss why the problem is not that members of Congress are unresponsive to voters—but rather that they are now responsive to the most ideologically extreme and negatively partisan voters, which makes it harder to build congressional majorities for strong climate policy. Meanwhile, the online information environment—rife with misinformation, vitriol and spin—is pushing all Americans to become more partisan over time, breeding misunderstanding of the issues and of each other.

Bio:
David Spence is Rex G. Baker Centennial Chair in Natural Resources Law at the University of Texas School of Law, and teaches Business Government & Society at the McCombs School of Business. Professor Spence is co-author of the leading energy law casebook, Energy, Economics and the Environment (Foundation Press), and has published numerous scholarly articles on subjects relating to energy policy, regulation and the regulatory process. Professor Spence’s research focuses on the law and politics of energy regulation, broadly defined. His scholarly writings address both the economic regulation and environmental regulation of the energy industry (both the fossil fuel and clean energy sectors). He has Ph.D in political science from Duke University and a J.D. from the University of North Carolina.

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Co-hosted with: Climate Action Network

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