{"id":385683,"date":"2025-06-29T12:21:22","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T10:21:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=385683"},"modified":"2025-06-29T12:21:23","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T10:21:23","slug":"climate-litigants-lackeys-for-chinas-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=385683","title":{"rendered":"Climate Litigants Lackeys for China\u2019s\u00a0Agenda?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From Science Matters<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Ron Clutz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Chinese flag flies in front of a coal fired power plant in Tianjin. China has been building many more similar plants. Getty Images<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dan Eberhart writes at Forbes Climate Lawsuits Are Changing The U.S. Energy Industry And China\u2019s Too. <\/strong><\/a> H\/T Tyler Durden. Excerpts in italics with my bolds and added images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Ted Cruz has expressed concern in multiple public statements that the American energy security may face a significant threat from a wave of lawsuits<\/strong> claiming to defend a progressive environmental agenda.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On this upcoming Wednesday, Sen. Cruz\u2019s Judiciary oversight<\/strong> subcommittee will hold a hearing<\/a> <\/strong>to examine how China and America\u2019s climate litigation movement are working in parallel to undermine U.S. energy dominance.<\/strong> These efforts are being carried out under the banner of environmental protection<\/strong> and the clean energy transition, but the real goal is to weaken America\u2019s energy sector<\/strong> and give the advantage to China<\/strong> in global energy and manufacturing markets.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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Climate cases<\/strong> brought by plaintiff firms like Sher Edling are supported by a network of well-funded foundations and nonprofits<\/strong> that are unwittingly advancing the strategic interests of America\u2019s adversaries by weakening domestic energy production and increasing our dependence<\/strong> on foreign-controlled supply chains\u2014particularly those dominated by China.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is growing recognition that this is a national security problem<\/strong>. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission<\/a> has warned that the Chinese Communist Party is actively working to \u201cdirectly and malignly influence state and local leaders to promote China\u2019s global agenda.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A recent\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>by national security nonprofit State Armor outlines\u00a0how China has co-opted elements of the U.S. climate lobby to drive a transition away from fossil fuels.<\/strong>\u00a0The result is greater U.S. reliance on Chinese-controlled technologies, minerals, and supply chains.\u00a0China<\/strong>\u00a0dominates the global markets for lithium, cobalt, solar panels, and battery components. It stands\u00a0to gain enormously from U.S. policies that force a premature shift away from traditional energy sources.<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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The report spotlights Energy Foundation China<\/a> (EFC) which claims to be a nonprofit headquartered in San Francisco.<\/strong> In reality, its staff are mostly based in Beijing<\/strong>, and its operations align<\/strong> closely with the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s interests<\/strong>. EFC has spent millions supporting<\/strong> anti-fossil fuel groups in the United States, including the Rocky Mountain Institute and the Natural Resources Defense Council. NRDC<\/strong> was the subject of a 2018 congressional inquiry<\/a> over whether it should register as a foreign agent due to its ties to China.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

House Energy and Commerce Committee<\/strong> leaders last year warned<\/a> that \u201cChina has already attempted to influence United States policy and opinion through covert influence and by exploiting perceived societal divisions.\u201d Their letter raised concerns about China-affiliated organizations influencing U.S. energy policy.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Major Focus Areas for U.S. Climate and Energy Funding, 2011\u20132015. Based on analysis of 2,502 publicly reported grants available as of Spring\/Summer 2016 which were distributed between 2011 and 2015 by 19 major foundations making environmental grants totaling $556,678,469. Source:Strategic philanthropy in the post-Cap-and-Trade years: Reviewing U.S. climate and energy foundation funding by Nisbet 2018<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A number of\u00a0foundations<\/strong>\u00a0have played a role in\u00a0financing climate litigation<\/strong>\u00a0efforts nationwide. A decade of litigation that most likely would not have happened without their financial backing. Major donors to this network include some of the largest philanthropic institutions in the country,\u00a0including the Children\u2019s Investment Fund, MacArthur, Rockefeller, and Hewlett foundations.<\/strong>\u00a0Yet\u00a0few<\/strong>\u00a0of these donors have\u00a0accounted for the risk of foreign manipulation embedded in the organizations they fund<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The influence campaign also extends into U.S. academic institutions<\/strong>. The National Natural Science Foundation of China,<\/strong> a government-run research entity, has published articles in American journals<\/strong> criticizing fossil fuels and accusing U.S. companies of deceptive practices. One of EFC\u2019s top communications directors previously held a position at that same Chinese foundation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is no shortage of outside forces fueling this wave of litigation, and Cruz\u2019s subcommittee is well positioned to expose them. The American people deserve transparency about who is bankrolling the litigation assault on domestic energy, and to what end.<\/strong> President Donald Trump\u2019s energy dominance agenda may not be enough to counteract opaque litigation funding that could undermine U.S. energy security. Prior administrations<\/strong> allowed this framework to take hold by ceding policymaking authority to the courts.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

China<\/strong> is more than happy to watch Americans tie the economy in regulatory knots<\/strong> while Chinese companies build new coal-fired power plants, locks in oil and gas contracts with OPEC+ members, and consolidates control over clean energy technologies. If this trend continues, Beijing will have a significant advantage when it comes to the energy industry.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On this upcoming Wednesday, Sen. Cruz\u2019s\u00a0Judiciary oversight\u00a0subcommittee will hold a\u00a0hearing\u00a0to\u00a0examine how China and America\u2019s climate litigation movement are working in parallel to undermine U.S. energy dominance.\u00a0These efforts are being carried out under the\u00a0banner of environmental protection\u00a0and the clean energy transition, but the\u00a0real goal is to weaken America\u2019s energy sector\u00a0and give the\u00a0advantage to China\u00a0in global energy and manufacturing markets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":385701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818336,691818341,691819236,691825537,691836132,691836131,691832770],"class_list":["post-385683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-biden-administration","tag-china","tag-climate-lobby","tag-energy-foundation-china-efc","tag-national-security-problem","tag-u-s-energy-dominance","tag-usas-rocky-mountains-yellowstone-region","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-3.-Juni-2025-08_44_02.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1CkH","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":445604,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=445604","url_meta":{"origin":385683,"position":0},"title":"Analysis: China-backed litigators crippling Louisiana energy","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"05\/21\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Energy Foundation China (EFC), a U.S.-registered nonprofit with primary operations in Beijing, heads up one of the major conduits for this progressive lawfare effort. 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At the same time, the revolving door between activist nonprofits and government agencies<\/strong> is raising serious ethical and legal questions. Ann Carlson, a senior official in the Biden administration<\/a>,<\/strong> previously sat on the board of the Environmental Law Institute while also consulting for Sher Edling.<\/strong> This institute has hosted multiple educational events with Chinese organizations on \u201cclimate litigation capacity building\u201d aimed at influencing judges and shaping the legal landscape<\/a> in both countries.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n