Business Battles in the US Energy Sector

“Despite mounting evidence of catastrophic climate change, some fossil fuel industries continue to resist the green energy revolution. Christian Downie’s excellent book provides a succinct analysis of the climate policy battles within the US energy sector. Anyone who wants to know how to overcome corporate resistance should read this book!” — Robert Falkner, Associate Professor of International Relations and Research Director, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, LSE, UK

“This very well written volume provides a detailed examination of the fascinating corporate struggles and strategies to shape environmental policy in America. It tells the story of a crucial but frequently overlooked part of the climate discussion and how the energy industry has shaped its regulatory framework.” — Simon Dalby, Balsillie School of International Affairs, Canada

“Business sectors related to fossil fuels are the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, but business also controls the financial and technological resources to help fix the problem. As Christian Downie lays out so cogently and clearly in this landmark book, business also controls powerful political resources which it uses to shape public debates and regulatory policy. His detailed exploration of six major policy battles in the United States during the Obama administration highlights the ways that businesses behave as political actors, through lobbying, mobilizing coalitions, and framing debates. Downie also points to ways that policymakers can harness a nuanced understanding of business power to pursue environmental goals, for example, by deftly manoeuvring through inter- and intra-sectoral divisions and by crafting incentives that reshape business interests.” — David Levy, Academic Co-Director, Sustainable Solutions Lab, University of Massachusetts, USA

First chapter available for download here.

The Politics of Climate Change Negotiations

`Christian Downie’s historical look at the negotiating behavior of the United States and the European Union during international efforts to implement a meaningful climate change treaty, go a long way toward explaining why current negotiations are bogged down. His findings about the impact of domestic politics on international negotiations should not be overlooked. The only way we will able to move to a new set of enforceable and meaningful greenhouse gas reduction commitments is to understand why past approaches have not worked.’ – Lawrence Susskind, Harvard Law School, US

`This is an enormously well-researched study that addresses an important hitherto-unanswered problem of negotiations. Usually single instances are analyzed but what about serial negotiations that return again and again to the subject, where the parties change position in their course? Downie tells us how this happens and in the process, enriches our understanding of negotiation. I enjoyed reading this book.’ — I. William Zartman, The Johns Hopkins University, US

`The Politics of Climate Change Negotiations is an engrossing account of international climate change negotiations, which also makes a major theoretical contribution to the study of negotiations. Of course, the lessons are not just theoretical and one can only hope that those due to meet in Paris in 2015 heed the lessons of history.’ — Dr. Larry Crump, Griffith APEC Study Centre, Griffith University, Australia