[20] His father Irving Yergin worked at Warner Brothers and was editor of The Hollywood Reporter and a former journalist in Chicago.

[29] According to the Los Angeles Times, the book "caused a considerable stir with its optimistic view of the possibilities of energy conservation and such alternative sources as solar power.

"[3] He founded Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) with Jamey Rosenfield in 1982[12][3] with the purchase of a $2 file cabinet from The Salvation Army.

[32] The book was adapted into a PBS/BBC series[14] seen by around 100 million viewers both domestically and internationally,[4][21] with Yergin as the principal storyteller.

[34] His 2002 book The Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy,[14] written with Joseph Stanislaw, described in narrative form the struggle over the "frontier" between governments and markets and the rise of globalization.

[4] In the "first major PBS series on business in more than a decade,"[21] he led the team that created an Emmy-winning six-hour[35][13] PBS/BBC television series based on the book,[14] serving as executive producer and co-writer[36] and interviewing individuals such as Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney, Vicente Fox, and Mikhail Gorbachev.

The audiobook includes an epilogue narrated by Yergin reflecting on the relevance of the book’s messaging present day, more than 30 years after its original publication date.

[46] In 2003[47] he became CNBC's global energy expert, which he continued to do for a decade,[48][13] and in September 2011 he appeared on The Colbert Report to discuss wind and solar power.

[49] In a 2011 essay published in The Wall Street Journal, Yergin criticized predictions of imminent peak oil.

Axios quoted Yergin, "The purpose of the report is to provide a framework and a guide to people who want to invest in clean energy innovation.

"[53] Yergin chaired IHS Markit's study on "Reinventing the Wheel," which focused on changing transportation methods, the role of electric vehicles, and the timing of peak oil demand.

[15] Yergin has been a member of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board under presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.

[58][59] In December 2016 Yergin joined a business forum composed primarily of CEOs assembled to provide strategic and policy advice on economic issues to President Donald Trump.

[63] In 2024, he received the Centennial Lifetime Achievement Award from the United States Energy Association on the occasion of its hundredth anniversary.