This week, Congress will shine a spotlight on a highly consequential front in the war on fossil fuel: foreign-funded lobbying and lawfare.
The Senate Judiciary Oversight Subcommittee hearing, entitled “China and the Left’s Lawfare Against American Energy Dominance,” is expected to scrutinize how coordinated networks of deep-pocketed environmental groups, foreign interests, and extreme legal activists are attempting to reshape American energy outside of democratic accountability.
Dems Invite Architect of “Climate Homicide” Theory to Testify
Majority witnesses will include Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and Scott Walter, president of the Capital Research Center, a watchdog organization that has investigated the funding and influence strategies of big money liberal networks for decades.
For their part, Democrats have invited David Arkush – Public Citizen’s architect behind the absurd “climate homicide” legal theory – to testify.
Arkush is an interesting choice, as he is currently the main pusher of a novel, fringe legal theory used against American energy producers. The Director of Public Citizen’s climate program, Arkush published a paper in 2023 that details the “climate homicide” theory, the feasibility of which was immediately questioned by legal experts.
Inviting one of the more fringe supporters of climate lawfare to testify at a Congressional hearing is sure to draw scrutiny from both the committee and the media.
Communist Climate Superfund
Expect discussion tomorrow of China’s indirect involvement in legislation and litigation targeting American energy producers – through opaque donations to nonprofits and foundations, including those that support New York’s recent Superfund law.
What was once a narrow legal tool to clean up toxic waste sites is being twisted into a blunt instrument of climate lawfare. Activists in places like Vermont and New York have succeeded in passing laws that try to reimagine Superfund statutes to preposterously hold American energy producers liable for alleged “climate damages,” a potential backup plan as their parallel climate lawfare campaign continues to struggle in court.
Recent reports have suggested that as China expands fossil fuel production and boosts its global influence, it may be quietly funding the lobby pushing these measures to cripple American energy producers.
Foreign Funders in Focus
With its particular focus on China, tomorrow’s hearing could place multiple major foreign funders of lawfare in the Congressional spotlight.
To start, eyes will be on the Energy Foundation China. A recent report published by the nonprofit organization State Armor details how the Energy Foundation China, a CCP-affiliated nonprofit, and the U.S. Energy Foundation commingle funds and pursue radical climate projects.
EFC funds a slew of activist groups who work to phase out fossil fuels throughout the U.S., such as the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The group also funds other activist organizations in the climate litigation ecosystem, like the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and the aforementioned Public Citizen. As we documented earlier this month, UCS plays a large role in developing climate attribution research specifically for application in climate lawsuits, while Public Citizen has been heavily involved in the discredited #ExxonKnew campaign, along with the fringe “climate homicide” legal theory.
China is not the only foreign entity involved in this space, as Energy in Depth has previously analyzed. Denmark-based KR Foundation funds Fossil Free Media, while the Swiss Oak Foundation funds efforts supporting climate litigation in the U.S. and Canada.
Other relevant foreign funders of anti-energy lawfare British billionaire Chris Hohn’s Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF). Importantly, CIFF has funded the Center for Climate Integrity, the leading Rockefeller-backed group supporting litigation against fossil fuel companies.
Environmental Law Institute, Judicial Capture, and “Education”
Members of the Senate subcommittee are also expected to scrutinize the Environmental Law Institute (ELI, which was the subject of a congressional letter on February 23, 2024, led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
ELI and its Climate Judiciary Project (CJP) have been providing so-called “educational seminars” for judges, purporting to inform them about the science and economics of climate change. In reality, this is simply a form of judicial capture – a way to influence judicial outcomes on behalf of climate plaintiffs under the guise of neutral education.
BOTTOM LINE: For years, environmental activists have struggled to pass sweeping climate legislation through Congress, and are now struggling in court. However, foreign-funded activists hope sympathetic judges and Blue States will impose defacto regulations that could never survive an actual vote in Washington. This hearing will expose how these efforts are funded, coordinated, and strategically deployed – all outside the public view.
