On Oct. 30, the Coleman P. Burke Center for Environmental Law hosted David Spence from the University of Texas School of Law for a talk on his new book, Climate of Contempt: How to Rescue the U.S. Energy Transition from Voter Partisanship.
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. 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. 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 a Ph.D in political science from Duke University and a J.D. from the University of North Carolina.
In his talk, Spence shared with listeners that the book encompasses both the past, present and future of energy transitions and energy regulation. He discussed how voter influence shapes congressional actions, particularly in creating regulatory laws. He highlighted that politicians prioritize re-election and thus respond to voter demands, which has contributed to political polarization and deregulation trends, especially in the energy sector.
Video of the talk is available .