High-stakes climate change lawsuits being filed across the country and around the world purporting to be on behalf of children are driven by a single left-wing public interest group with big-money backing and long-standing ties to progressive activists. The case can be traced back to a law firm, Fox News Digital revealed. .
Our Children’s Trust (OCT), based in Oregon, is classified as a 501(c)(3) public charity and provides legal support to young people “to ensure their legal right to a safe climate.” It was established over 10 years ago to provide services. . ” Since its founding, OCT has filed multiple federal lawsuits, led legal actions in all 50 states, and is also involved in litigation in Canada, Mexico, Pakistan, India, and Uganda.
“Young people are practicing exactly what their elders taught them,” OCT co-executive director and general counsel Matt dos Santos said last week. “When they find mistakes, they take steps to correct them.” “I’m working on it,” he said.
Dos Santos, who is tasked with overseeing OCT’s legal program, said activists have sided with President Biden in Juliana v. United States, one of several cases the group is pursuing. He made this comment at a rally outside the White House where he called for The plaintiffs in this case are 21 young Americans who are concerned that the government is violating their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property, according to OCT.
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Youth plaintiffs represented by Our Children’s Trust are awaiting the start of the nation’s first youth climate change trial on June 12, 2023, in the Montana First Judicial District Court in Helena, Montana. (William Campbell/Getty Images)
OCT filed a complaint in 2015 in Juliana v. United States, arguing that the federal government has been contributing to global warming for decades, despite being fully aware of the devastating effects of climate change. . The case, currently underway in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, targets policies that permit the extraction, transportation, and combustion of fossil fuels.
Days before the White House rally, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), one of the architects of the Green New Deal, released a podcast with Dos Santos and some of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. During the episode, the senior MP praised the children who “fought what previous generations have done to pollute the environment and create this problem”.
Meanwhile, the group’s ongoing series of climate lawsuits follows a roughly similar format, arguing on behalf of a handful of young people that federal or state agencies are harming their futures by allowing dependence on fossil fuels. It is claimed that
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OCT’s most recent lawsuit was filed against the Environmental Protection Agency in December, and its most successful case so far has been against the state of Montana, which resulted in a favorable ruling last year. The Montana First Judicial District Court’s decision, which the state later appealed, struck down some state laws promoting fossil fuels and concluded that the young plaintiffs were harmed by the laws.
“Today, for the first time in U.S. history, the court decided on the merits of a case that the government has violated the constitutional rights of children through laws and practices that promote fossil fuels, ignore climate change, and unreasonably put young people at risk. ”Julia said. Olson, OCT’s Chief Counsel and Co-Executive Director, spoke after the August 2023 ruling.
Wind turbines are seen at the Top of the World energy facility in Rawlings Hills, Wyoming. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
But OCT has attracted the financial backing of major left-wing philanthropic nonprofits and is led by a longtime activist, according to a Fox News Digital review of financial filings, career databases and hiring documents. In its 2023 impact report, the group said it was receiving pro bono legal assistance from officials from Earthjustice and Oxfam America, two large organizations involved in climate change litigation.
OCT also actively recruits children between the ages of 8 and 18 to be the face of our legal work. Children interested in serving as plaintiffs in OCT’s lawsuits are directed to an online interest form. There, we ask applicants for a range of contact information, including their pronouns and how climate change has affected them personally.
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“Our Children’s Trust is committed to working with well-intentioned organizations to achieve our goal of preventing responsible energy development in Montana and across the nation,” said Chase Scheuer, spokesman for Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen. “They are using children as political cover and exploiting them.” Knudsen spearheaded the defense of the state’s energy policy in Held v. Montana.
“Unable to implement policies through the normal processes of representative government, they are ignoring the will of the people and using the courts to impose their extremist climate policies,” Scheuer continued.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is defending the state in Held v. Montana, a lawsuit brought by Our Children’s Trust on behalf of a small number of children. (Fox News)
Overall, OCT reported net assets of more than $5.4 million and received donations of $2.2 million in 2022 and $3.2 million in the previous year, according to its tax forms. Although the group’s donors are hidden from public view, an examination of the tax forms of various liberal nonprofits reveals that the group routinely receives large subsidies.
For example, in 2022, we received $200,000 from the Amalgamated Charitable Foundation. $100,000 from the Alex C. Walker Foundation. $100,000 from Impact Assets. Donations valued at $50,000 were received from the Jacob and Therese Hershey Foundation, the Park Foundation, and others. The nonprofit organizations that provide these grants generally contribute to progressive social and environmental causes.
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OCT’s clear largest funder, the Amalgamated Foundation, is the philanthropic arm of Amalgamated Bank, with operations focused on progressive issues and extensive union services. It is majority owned and controlled by Workers United, a division of the Employees International Union (SEIU).
The Amalgamated Foundation, under the leadership of Executive Director Anna Fink, launched a campaign to pressure organizations to redirect Republican donations to the Amalgamated Foundation following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. I took the lead. The program was supported by George Soros’ Open Society Foundations.
Sariel Sandoval is one of 16 young plaintiffs suing the state of Montana over its contribution to climate change. (Washington Post via Getty Images)
Additionally, OCT co-executive directors Dos Santos and Olson have a long history of progressive activism.
Ms. Dos Santos continues to serve on the boards of the Transgender Law Center, the Latin American Network, and the Korean Family Law Center. He previously served as legal director for the ACLU’s Oregon chapter, where he advocated for LGBT rights, immigration, and criminal justice reform. Dos Santos, among others, led the challenge to former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and represented transgender prisoners demanding that the state provide hormone therapy.
And Olson was an attorney at Earthjustice before founding his own firm, Wild Earth Advocates.
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Other OCT staff and board members have ties to organizations focused on climate change, including the Women’s Organization for Environment and Development, the Western Environmental Law Center, Food and Water Watch, and the Columbia University Earth Institute.
OCT and the United Charitable Foundation did not respond to requests for comment.
