A rightwing think tank tied to Leonard Leo is accusing a nonprofit’s climate change seminars for judges of unfairly influencing the judiciary to favor climate lawsuits.
Dharna Noor and Alice Herman report for The Guardian.
In short:
- The Environmental Law Institute’s (ELI) Climate Judiciary Project offers neutral education to judges on climate science for use in related litigation.
- The American Energy Institute (AEI), a pro-fossil fuel think tank, alleges that the program unfairly supports plaintiffs in climate cases, releasing a report claiming bias.
- AEI’s report was edited and promoted by CRC Advisors, a PR firm chaired by Leonard Leo, known for shaping the conservative US judiciary.
Key quote:
"ELI’s seminars are giving judges the ABCs of climate change, which is a complicated subject that they ought to know about."
— Kert Davies, director of special investigations at the Center for Climate Integrity
Why this matters:
Climate-related litigation could hold fossil fuel companies accountable for their role in the climate crisis. Efforts to educate judges about climate science may be key to ensuring fair and informed legal outcomes in these cases.
Related: After Supreme Court ruling, judges take the lead on environmental regulation
