Political context, carbon dependence, climate vulnerability, and renewable energy consumption in the United States, 2000–2022.

Climate change has brought devastating impacts on the environment and social well-being. Promoting renewable energy is a promising approach to address the challenge since renewables offer a substitute for fossil fuels and emit less greenhouse gases. This study aims to investigate the landscape of America's renewable energy over the past two decades and three time-varying determinants (political context, carbon dependence, and climate vulnerability) that shape the consumption. The analysis shows that the share of renewable energy in total energy consumption has doubled since 2000 while the country's CO₂ emissions plunged at a time when global emissions are soaring. The fixed-effects regression is estimated using state-level panel data from 2000 to 2022. Results show that control by the Democratic Party and growing vulnerability to climate change promote states to consume renewable energy, while a carbon-intensive economy has slowed the trend. The three variables have significant interactions. For instance, the positive effect of climate vulnerability is reinforced when the Democratic Party controls the state. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party's control and vulnerability to climate change counterbalanced the inhibiting impact of carbon dependence. The findings contribute to the literature and carry policy implications regarding identifying strategies to advance clean energy and combat the climate crisis.