Senate Hearing Explores China’s Role In Funding U.S. Climate Groups

Alleging that foreign money from entities tied to the Chinese Communist party help to bankroll climate advocacy groups to pursue litigation against U.S. energy companies, Texas Senator Ted Cruz chaired a committee hearing looking into the question on Wednesday, June 25. The session, titled “Climate Lawfare and the Courts: How Foreign Actors Are Undermining American Energy Independence,” focused on claims that organizations with ties to the CCP, particularly the Energy Foundation China (EFC), are funding and directing U.S. environmental groups to push climate litigation and policies that weaken American energy producers while advancing China’s economic and geopolitical interests.

The Elephant in the Room: Does China Fund Green Groups?

The hearing of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, which Cruz chairs, featured witnesses from both sides of the question, and often heated exchanges involving senators from both parties. Witnesses included Republican Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach; Scott Walter, President of the Capital Research Center, a Republican-leaning think tank; and David Arkush, Director of the climate program at the left-leaning Public Citizen activist group. Cruz, the only GOP senator to show up for the hearing, was flanked by four Democrats: Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut, and Vermont Sen. Peter Welch.

Cruz alleged in his opening statement and throughout the hearing that EFC has in recent years injected millions of dollars to U.S. advocacy groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) in support of their litigation and messaging targeting the oil, gas, and coal industries. Those efforts align with China’s strategic interests given that the country controls critical supply chains for critical minerals, batteries, solar panels, and other energy technologies.