David Spence

David Spence, a professor of energy regulation at the University of Texas Austin, will speak on “The Misunderstood Politics of the U.S. Energy Transition” on Thursday, Sept. 5, from noon until 1.p.m.

Spence’s free public presentation will take place in Room 191 of the Communication Arts & Sciences Building.

He will discuss his new book, Climate of Contempt: How to Rescue the U.S. Energy Transition from Voter Partisanship (Columbia University Press).

“The problem is not that elected politicians are unresponsive to voters, but that changes in electoral competition and the information environment have made politicians more responsive to the most negatively partisan voters, who in turn drive public (mis)understanding of the clean energy transition as a political challenge,” Spence says.

Earlier in the day he will talk with students in the Environmental Reporting class.