The Center for Climate Integrity – the Rockefeller-funded activist group pushing climate litigation across the country – is openly boasting of targeting energy producing states with lawsuits in blatant attempt to undermine the U.S. oil and natural gas industry.
In a new article from E&E News, Richard Wiles, president of the CCI spoke of his group’s focus on Ohio and Pennsylvania, two states that sit atop the Marcellus and Utica Shale, as if it’s a gameshow prize.
“It would be like a cherry on top. It would be great if we could get a case in a fossil fuel-producing state.”
Notably, Wiles appears completely unconcerned about how a climate lawsuit such as this would put thousands of workers in both states out of business, and openly talks about the partisan nature of these suits:
“We’re not oblivious to the fact that it’s a major natural gas-, fossil fuel-producing state. But it’s a purple state, a state that hasn’t lost its mind completely.”
Energy In Depth has discussed how CCI’s venture into oil- and natural gas-producing states like Ohio and Pennsylvania marks a distinct shift away from their usual recruiting strategy – and one that faces a steep uphill battle in both states.
And while the first indicators of CCI’s playbook and pitch were evident in Ohio almost exactly one year ago, and in Pennsylvania starting this summer, potential climate lawsuits seem to have gone absolutely nowhere since then.
Interestingly, E&E News highlights two Pennsylvania officials who initially voiced support for these suits in a webinar with CCI – but refused comment for the story:
“Neither Reno nor Taylor returned requests for comment for this story.”
Similarly, Wiles all but admits defeat in Ohio:
“Wiles said that although the Center for Climate Integrity initially suspected there could be some interest in a climate lawsuit in Ohio, the group now believes that’s unlikely.” (emphasis added)
Of course, this is a no-brainer as the industry helps to boost the state’s economy, provide good-paying jobs for thousands of families, and is deeply popular with Ohioans. Similarly, the fracking boom in the energy-rich Commonwealth has not only provided thousands of family-sustaining jobs, but also lowered carbon emissions.
The potential for climate liability lawsuits in these states has been met with swift rebuke, including from David Taylor, the CEO and President of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association, who specifically called out CCI for the hypocrisy of targeting the American industry without any alternative to support a modern lifestyle. As E&E News reports:
“The Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association says it’s prepared to “scrap” with anyone who decides to pursue litigation against the oil industry. ‘This is talk on the part of some truly extreme and shortsighted individuals.’ Taylor said the lawsuits are ‘completely flawed’ because they target a necessary resource… ‘For people who are blaming fossil fuels, lead the way,” he said. ‘Show us how to live without them.’”
Similarly, IPAA CEO and President (and Pennsylvania native) Jeff Eshelman said:
“Pennsylvania and Ohio are home to prolific natural gas and oil development that benefits the entire Appalachian region and country, and we have decades of experience developing these resources safely and responsibly. Wealthy, foreign interests that seek to halt this progress through costly litigation on the taxpayer’s dime — and with it, eliminate thousands of jobs that are powered by these essential resources — are misinformed, hypocritical, and doomed to fail.”
Bottom Line: It’s rich that an out-of-state, anti-American energy activist like Richard Wiles of the Center for Climate Integrity is openly bragging about trying to add Pennsylvania and Ohio to his climate litigation trophy case as the “cherry on top.” Climate lawsuits in these energy-prolific states will only reverse the important progress of American energy leadership that is helping to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, provide substantial boosts to the economy, and ensure energy security across the country and world.
