Business Battles in the US Energy Sector

This book examines how and why business actors are shaping energy policy in the US. In doing so, this work provides the first detailed analysis of business actors in the US energy sector and presents new theoretical insights about the strategies business actors use to exert influence over the policy process.

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This book is ground breaking in its study of business actors in climate and energy politics. While various studies have demonstrated the influence of business actors across multiple policy domains, this is the first to examine the behaviour of business actors in energy centric industries in the US that will be vital for achieving a clean energy transition, namely the oil, gas, coal, utility, and renewable industries.

Drawing on almost 80 interviews with senior energy executives, lobbyists, and policymakers, it asks two central questions: (i) how and why are business actors shaping energy policy contests in the US? And (ii) what are the implications for policymakers? In answering these questions, this book provides new insights about the preferences and strategies of business in the energy sector, and, significantly, it identifies strategies for policymakers seeking to regulate energy in the face of political resistance from incumbent fossil fuel industries.

This book will be of particular value to students, scholars, and policymakers working in the fields of energy, climate, and environmental politics, as well as individuals generally interested in the role that business exerts over policy processes.