Misunderstanding the Politics of the Energy Transition

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). 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