A little-known judicial advocacy group funded by left-wing nonprofits is secretly training judges across the country on how to handle climate change-related cases, according to a review by Fox News Digital.
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 the project extends to various state and federal courts, including the powerful Court of Appeals, and comes as various cities and states pursue high-profile cases against the oil industry.
“As the content of climate litigation grows, judges must consider complex scientific and legal issues, many of which are rapidly evolving,” the CJP said on its website. “To address these issues, the Environmental Law Institute’s Climate Justice Project collaborates with leading national judicial education institutions to meet the needs of judges seeking fundamental knowledge of climate science methods and concepts. are doing.”
“We are developing and disseminating climate science and law curricula and conducting seminars and educational programs in collaboration with leading climate scientists and legal experts,” he added. “The goal of our project is to provide judicial bodies with neutral and objective information about the science of climate change that is understood by the scientific professional community and relevant to current and future litigation.”
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Madison Calhoun, senior manager of education programs at the Environmental Law Institute, will present the June 2022 webinar on the Clean Air Act. (Environmental Law Institute/YouTube)
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, multiple judges serve as advisors to his CJP and may influence its curriculum and modules.
These include Associate Judge Ronald Roby of the California Court of Appeals, Third District, Judge Michael Simon of the Federal District Court of Oregon, and recently retired former Senior Judge David Teitel of the United States Court of Appeals. All members of the District of Columbia Circuit served as advisors on this project.
Additionally, a review of the Environmental Law Institute's policy brief summarizing past events shows that the CJP has been in contact with judges in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Circuits; The department is shown to be based in New York City, Boston, and Puerto Rico. The organization also boasts that it hosted a plenary session attended by approximately 100 judges at the 9th Circuit's Midwinter Annual Conference in 2019.
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“The law of climate change is emerging, spurred by government actions and court decisions, and with a drumbeat of increasing impact,” the brief states. “ELI's Climate Justice Project is preparing benches to understand the science and ensure justice in a new legal environment.”
In 2022, the Environmental Law Institute will host conferences, policy forums, and boot camps on topics such as climate change, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, decarbonization, the Endangered Species Act, energy law, and environmental issues. He announced that he had led 80 events. Criminal enforcement, environmental justice, and ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance).
The Climate Justice Project's curriculum shows that the group's courses and seminars blame the production and use of fossil fuels for climate change. (Reuters/Angus Mordaunt)
CJP's various curricula indicate that the group's courses and seminars attribute climate change to the production and use of fossil fuels. If carbon emissions continue at their current pace, average global temperatures could rise up to 4.8 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100, far exceeding the United Nations' 1.5 degrees Celsius target, the document says.
“The only factor that can clearly explain the rise in temperature over the last century is the increase in the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, regulated by changes in land cover and increases in atmospheric aerosols (pollutants) due to human activities. ” says one of the modules.
“Climate change poses economic and financial risks. These arise from impacts on infrastructure and the built environment, and from the effects on markets and other instruments that manage and are affected by such risks.” another added. “The economic and financial impacts and damages from climate change are already occurring, and the potential future costs and losses are enormous and will increase non-linearly with the amount of global warming.”
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Another module is dedicated to discussing “climate justice,” noting that low-income regions have historically experienced “increased heat exposure, flooding, motor vehicle traffic, toxic substances and pollutants, aging public infrastructure, They have been exposed to more environmental damage, including poverty and environmental damage. crime. “
Ann Carlson, a senior National Highway Traffic Safety Administration official, has held positions at the law firm Sher Edling and the Environmental Law Institute. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
Overall, the Environmental Law Institute reported total revenue of $8.6 million last year (much of it from external funding sources and program income) and total assets of $14.6 million, according to its most recent tax filings.
In recent years, the group has received millions of dollars from left-wing nonprofits such as the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Oak Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the Walton Family Foundation. are collecting.
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Meanwhile, the Environmental Law Institute boasts numerous ties to environmental law firm Sher Edling, which represents many jurisdictions including Minnesota, New Jersey, New York City, and San Francisco in climate change litigation against oil companies. ing.fossil fuel industry spearheaded a decades-long campaign of deception About global warming risk.
Scha Edling, which was founded in 2017 to specifically represent “states, cities, public agencies, and corporations in high-impact, high-value environmental litigation,” according to its website, is also a member of the MacArthur Foundation and MacArthur It also receives funding from left-wing organizations such as foundations. The William Hewlett Foundation and the Flora Hewlett Foundation, both fund ELI.
Vic Shah, partner at law firm Shah Edling, will speak about climate change litigation during a 2021 virtual panel discussion. (American Tort Museum/YouTube)
“The grant to the Environmental Law Institute will support the Climate Justice Project, which was launched in 2019,” the MacArthur Foundation explains in its rationale for contributing $500,000 to ELI in 2020.
“The goal of this project is to increase judges' understanding of the objective facts of climate science as understood by the professional scientific community and how a lack of information has significant impacts on human and natural systems. That is the case,” he continues. “This will lead to better-informed decision-making and ultimately create a body of legislation that supports climate action.”
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In addition to sharing some funding sources, the Environmental Law Institute and Shah Edling employed some of the same staff.
For example, financial disclosures reveal that Anne Carlson, who joined the Biden administration in 2021, was a longtime director of ELI and had “provided pro bono consulting” to Schar Edling regarding litigation against oil companies. became. 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.
The Environmental Law Institute did not respond to a request for comment.
