First appearance on Fox: A controversial legal advocacy organization funded by left-wing nonprofits collaborates with judges and experts involved in climate change litigation, despite publicly downplaying the extent of its connections. continues to do so.
“CJP does not participate in litigation, assist or coordinate litigants, or advise judges on how to rule in any case,” says the Environmental Law Institute's Climate Justice Project. Representative Jordan Diamond wrote in a paper. recent letters He wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal in response to criticism of the project.
The Washington, DC-based Environmental Law Institute (ELI) created the Climate Justice Project (CJP) in 2018, establishing the first resource to provide “authoritative, up-to-date information” on climate change litigation. According to the group. The scope of this project extends to various state and federal courts, including powerful appellate courts, and to various cities and states. pursue high-profile litigation Against the oil industry.
A Fox News Digital investigation found that several CJP lawyers and judges have close ties to the curriculum and are deeply involved in climate change litigation.
Black money fund funneled millions to environmentalist group that blocked highways and destroyed famous art
According to NPR, people worried about climate change are turning to “eco-pastors” to deal with their fears. (Barbara Alper/Getty Images)
Princeton University Professor Michael Oppenheimer Contributed to CJP curriculum On July 20, 2022, he presented “Evidence for Change: Decisions on Climate Litigation'' with CJP's Sandra Nichols Thiam at the 2022 Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference.
Oppenheimer has a long history of filing climate-related applications. amicus brief Lawsuits were filed in multiple states between 2019 and 2022.
Robin Kundis Craig, a professor at the University of Utah School of Law, wrote a module for the CJP in 2022 and has filed several court briefs indicating that she is active in court.
One example occurred in 2023, when Craig was listed in an order granting the jurist's request for an amicus briefing, which was signed by Judge Mark Rectenwald (FOX News Digital) . previously reportedquietly revealed last year that he had taken an April course in collaboration with the Environmental Law Institute's Climate Justice Project.
Mr. Recktenwald co-presented at the December 2022 National Judicial College Webinar “Hurricanes and Related Litigation in a Changing Climate” sponsored by CJP. In 2023, he co-presented with Professor Robert DeConte at the National Judicial University Seminar, presenting “Sea Level Rise and Litigation: What Judges Should Know About Sea Level Rise Due to Global Warming.''
Radical climate activist supports pipeline bombing in surprising interview, admits it could kill people
President Ali has dismissed suggestions that his country is having a negative impact on the environment, claiming Guyana has the lowest rate of deforestation in the world. (Adobe Stock)
Hawaii Supreme Court in Rectenwald, October 2023 rejected the appeal Honolulu climate change disinformation lawsuit filed by oil company.
Craig also filed an amicus brief in Hawaii state court in July 2022, where Judge Jeffrey Crabtree signed an order allowing briefs to be filed. Crabtree is a member of the National Judicial College Curriculum Development Committee, which develops the curriculum for “.Environmental law is essential to the judiciary. ”
“The importance of the role of state court judges in environmental law should not be underestimated,” the curriculum states. Website status.
Ann Carlson, who joined the Biden administration in 2021, is a longtime ELI board member who has “provided pro bono consulting” in litigation against oil companies to Schaer Edling, an environmental law firm that represents many jurisdictions. This was revealed in the financial disclosure. . Shah Edling attorney Michael Berger has also participated in several ELI events, and former Shah Edling attorney Meredith Wilensky previously served as an ELI public interest law fellow.
Experts say Biden administration report could delay President Trump's efforts to release domestic natural gas
Mr. Berger is executive director of the Sabin Climate Change Law Center and a presenter at ELI, which has filed court briefs in support of plaintiffs in climate change lawsuits across the country.
UCLA's Emmett Institute for Climate Change and the Environment hosted a talk with Vic Sher of Sher Edling in October 2017.Litigation over climate change damages: First wave of climate change litigation” Anne Carlson moderated the discussion.
John Dernbach, who is listed as an expert on CJP's website, filed an amicus brief in 2019 as part of a legal scholar's brief in support of the plaintiffs in City of Oakland v. BP.
This June 1, 2017 file photo shows demonstrators gathering outside the White House in Washington to protest President Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Change Agreement. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
“Judges who attend Climate Justice Project events are advised that they are stepping into a left-wing lobbying arena,” Jason Isaac, president of the American Energy Association, told FOX News Digital. “Under the guise of ‘judicial education,’ the CJP is using activist academics to showcase pro-plaintiff climate change lawsuits. This kind of political maneuvering means that climate change lawsuits themselves are a threat to our quality of life. It emphasizes that this is a left-wing attack on
“Early next year, the Supreme Court will have the chance to hear a case asking whether blue states and far-left mayors like Brandon Johnson can sue energy suppliers for climate change. Let's hope we accept this lawsuit and end the Green New Deal.”
fox news digital previously reported Since its founding more than five years ago, the project has created 13 curriculum modules, hosted 42 events and had over 1,700 judges take part in its activities. Additionally, several judges serve as advisors to the CJP and may influence its curriculum and modules.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said, “Over the past five years, so-called 'climate change lawsuits,' lawsuits that hold private companies financially responsible for damage to public infrastructure allegedly caused by climate change, have been occurring. It's rapidly increasing,” he said. wrote in a letter It was reported to the Environmental Law Institute earlier this year.
“Alongside this unprecedented litigation, the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) is launching a new initiative to provide judges with “education on climate science, the impacts of climate change, and how climate science is evolving.” A first-of-its-kind initiative “initiated'' legislation. ” However, ELI's purpose in providing this “education” appears to be to influence judges to side with the plaintiffs in climate change lawsuits. ”
The letter goes on to refer to Carlson as “one of the architects of the program” and to “allow the Committee to assess the efforts of both Carlson and ELI to influence the federal judiciary in deciding climate change cases.” asked for information.
“ELI intends to accomplish through the courts what cannot be legislated: a radical environmental agenda,” Cruz said.
“To help judges arrive at these 'appropriate' judgments, the project has developed a 'Climate Science and Law Curriculum for Judges' (the Curriculum). ELI notes that the project is 'neutral' claims to be “objective,'' but the curriculum is subject to judicial review. It's like a playbook for public officials: Judge rules in favor of plaintiffs in man-made climate change lawsuit against traditional energy companies: “Climate science is based on long-established scientific disciplines.'' Courses include “How it's Built'' and “Exploring Human Factors.'' [global] “Global warming,” “causal relationships between emissions,” and “climate change,” etc.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks with reporters after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) attends the Republican Senate luncheon at the U.S. Capitol, November 1, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
An American Energy Association report earlier this year alleged that CJP “hides its affiliation with plaintiffs because it knows that such an affiliation would raise judicial ethics issues.”
According to AEI, ELI Vice-President and Director of Legal Education Sandra Nicholls Thiam acknowledged as much in a 2023 press statement, saying, “If we appear to be biased or have a whiff of bias, If there was any, we wouldn't be able to do anything.” what we do ”
“Taken together, it appears that CJP made the thinnest possible disclosures in an attempt to appear impartial,” AEI said. “However, their confessions confirm that the CJP exists to facilitate informal, unilateral contacts between judges and climate change activists under the guise of judicial education. , as Thiam said, secrecy remains essential to their activities, which are to develop 'organisations'.''Laws to support climate action. ”
AEI, an organization that describes itself as “dedicated to advancing policies that ensure America's energy security and economic prosperity,” says CJP's activities are “an attack on the rule of law.”
Climate change activists protest in Washington DC (Fox News Digital)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“In America, powerful people cannot be allowed to appease or manipulate judges before a case is heard,” the report said.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for ELI said, “CJP does not participate in litigation, assist or coordinate litigants, and does not assist or coordinate litigants, but rather does not assist or coordinate litigants in determining how a case should be decided.” We do not advise judges. Our course provides judges with access to the following information: Evidence-based information on trends in climate science and law.
“Of course, experts in this field are welcome to contribute their expertise to the CJP program, but they may also contribute that same expertise individually and independently in other settings unrelated to the CJP program. It is routine and encouraged for judges to participate in continuing education that reveals that they can gain expertise in a variety of areas. ”
Fox News Digital’s Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report
