In any area, there will be key books that you’ll find useful to read to better understand the issue.
I’ve found that is no better way to grasp the core of an issue than reading books and papers. The benefit of reading a lot is a good idea made by Charlie Munger and Warren Buffet.
These books are often the same books that officials and politicians turn to better understand the issue. And, yes good officials and politicians have learned the truth that the only way to keep up to date is to read a lot.
The few hours you spend reading will bring you a depth of understanding.
Innovation
Matt Ridley, How Innovation Works
Energy transition
Anything by Vaclav Smil
Fisheries and Oceans
Charles Clover, End of the Line
Callum Roberts, The Unnatural History of the Sea
Rachel Carson, The Sea Around Us
Chemicals
Lucas Bergkamp, The EU REACH Regulation for Chemicals: Law and Practice
Rafael Cayuela Valencia, The Future of the Chemical Industry by 2050
Cancer
Siddhartha Mukherjee, Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
Charles Graeber, The Breakthrough: Immunotherapy and the Race to Cure Cancer
Here is my list of books on lobbying and campaigning