Modern Media & (Mis)Understanding the Energy Transition

Getting to net zero carbon emissions will require Congress to more aggressively regulate greenhouse gas emissions. If the 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: Rescuing the U.S. Energy Transition from Voter Partisanship (Columbia University Press, 2024). Spence proposes that the problem is not that members of Congress are unresponsive to voters-but that most are responsive to the most partisan voters who perceive the most negative effects of these regulations. Meanwhile, the online information environment- rife with misinformation and spin- pushes all of Americans to become more negatively partisan over time, breeding misunderstanding of the value choices the energy transition entails, and distorting each party's sense of its political opponents. The book’s final chapter offers suggestions for overcoming these pathologies.

Speaker: David Spence, University of Texas

Attend in person in the Hartley Conference Room, or watch online (see weblink)