ABSTRACT
This introduction explores how environmental regulation and capitalism have intersected since the 1972 Stockholm Conference, tracing the evolving role of business in environmental policies and regulations. It highlights the persistent “broken record” of environmental warnings and inaction, questioning why corporate actors increasingly influenced global environmental policy frameworks, especially after the neoliberal turn. The introduction discusses the widespread reliance on business-driven initiatives and expertise and emphasizes the relevance of considering power asymmetries within capitalist societies. By contextualizing and periodizing corporate strategies such as resistance, climate denialism, issue-framing, and co-opting expertise, it sets the stage for analyzing how companies and corporate networks have shaped—and often obstructed—environmental and climate policies over decades. It calls for a deeper historical understanding of these dynamics to address contemporary environmental challenges and to rethink debates about sustainability and climate justice.
