ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 introduces the urgency of achieving a clean energy transition and the important role that the US will need to play. However, it argues that such a transition will not occur in the US without overcoming the political resistance of incumbent fossil fuel industries. Accordingly, this chapter focuses on the book’s two central questions: (i) how and why are business actors shaping energy policy contests in the US? And (ii) what are the lessons for policymakers? In doing so, it outlines six policy contests taking place in the US energy sector, the methods and data relied on to answer these questions, and the contributions of the book. The final section provides a guide to the book.
