How Politics and Policy Impact Energy-Related Processes and Outcomes

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

This panel examines the critical role that policy design, political structures, and institutional dynamics play in shaping energy-related processes and outcomes. As the urgency of the energy transition intensifies, understanding how public programs, political ideologies, and governance arrangements influence energy decisions becomes vital. The four papers in this panel highlight how political and policy environments condition shape who benefit from or bear the burdens of energy systems, and how energy transitions are interpreted, contested, and implemented at multiple levels of society.

Catherine Chen and Aaron Strong investigate the decision-making barriers faced by low- and moderate-income (LMI) households when applying for energy efficiency programs in New York. Their study explores how policy tools can reduce cognitive decision costs and increase uptake of home energy upgrades under the EmPower+ program. By experimentally testing the effect of a simple, tailored decision tool, they reveal how policy design—particularly the framing and accessibility of information—can help mitigate structural inequities in access to energy-efficiency resources.

Trevor Memmott and Michelle Graff examine how state-level politics shape patterns of energy insecurity for LGBTQ+ households. Using data from over two million respondents to the U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey, they find that LGBTQ individuals are significantly more likely to experience energy-related hardship—and that these disparities are exacerbated in states with more conservative political leadership and discriminatory policies. Their work underscores how political ideologies and social policy contexts can amplify energy vulnerability for already marginalized populations.

Linlang He and Stephen Cottingham focus on the adoption of electric vehicles in municipal fleets, a key site of public-sector decarbonization. Drawing on original survey and interview data from Texas fleet managers, they reveal how budgetary constraints, institutional capacity, and operational priorities drive fleet electrification decisions more than sustainability goals. However, they also show that policy networks and external engagement can influence perceptions and willingness to adopt clean technologies, highlighting the role of inter-organizational relationships in shaping local energy transitions.

Juniper Katz examines the tensions that arise within environmental advocacy coalitions as they navigate conflicts between renewable energy siting and conservation goals. Using the Advocacy Coalition Framework, she shows how differing beliefs and framing strategies lead to coalition realignments and policy stances in the face of “green-on-green” dilemmas. Her findings demonstrate how political coalitions and environmental narratives evolve in response to the complex trade-offs of the low-carbon transition.

Together, these papers reveal how politics and policy do not merely set the stage for energy transition; they shape the very conditions under which change is possible, desirable, or contested. The panel emphasizes the need for adaptive, equity-focused policymaking that accounts for the diverse political, social, and institutional landscapes shaping energy outcomes.

Policy Area

• Natural Resource, Energy, and Environmental Policy

Secondary Policy Area

• Politics, Media, and the Policy Process

Chair

• Xue Gao, Florida State University

Discussants

• Mallory E Flowers, University of Rhode Island

• Joshua Basseches, Tulane University

Organizer

• Catherine Chen, Hamilton College

Individual Presentations

• The Beginning is Always the Hardest: Decision Costs of EmPower+ Application - Presenting Author: Catherine Chen, Hamilton College

• The Political Geography of Energy Insecurity: Evidence from LGBTQ+ Households - Presenting Author: Trevor Memmott, University of Massachusetts at Boston; Non-Presenting Co-Author: Michelle Graff, Georgia Institute of Technology

• Electric Vehicle Adoption in Municipal Fleets: Understanding Resources and Capacity through Performance Benchmarking - Presenting Author: Linlang He, University of North Texas

• Green Divide: Coalition Dynamics in the Low-Carbon Transition Movement - Presenting Author: Juniper Katz, University of Massachusetts at Amherst