Amid scrutiny over the use of taxpayer funds, 23 Republican state attorneys general have urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to halt federal grants to the Environmental Law Institute (ELI). The ELI runs the Climate Judiciary Project (CJP), which is under fire for its role in climate-related legal education. In a letter addressed to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, the attorneys general called on the Trump Administration to stop funding ELI due to concerns about CJP’s influence on climate lawfare.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, who led this initiative, told Fox News: “The Environmental Law Institute’s Climate Judiciary Project is using woke climate propaganda, under the guise of what they call ‘neutral’ education, to persuade judges and push their wildly unpopular agenda through the court system.”
This letter follows increased criticism from policymakers and industry leaders regarding CJP’s role in training judges. In June, a House Oversight subcommittee scrutinized CJP as an example of a taxpayer-funded NGO with a radical climate agenda. Scott Walker, president of the Capital Research Center, criticized CJP’s educational efforts aimed at influencing judges handling climate litigation cases against oil and gas companies.
Senator Ted Cruz has also been vocal about CJP’s activities. In February 2024, he requested information from ELI regarding CJP’s connections with academics supporting plaintiffs in climate lawsuits. He later highlighted these issues during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing.
Energy industry groups have also voiced concerns. Dan Turner, Executive Director of Power The Future, wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi [sic] regarding CJP’s collaboration with the Federal Judicial Center, emphasizing that policy decisions should be made by government branches rather than courts.
Despite denials from ELI representatives about bias in their judicial training programs, lawmakers remain skeptical. Investigations into ELI have focused on its financial ties with plaintiff lawyers and academic supporters of climate lawfare. In 2024 alone, ELI received more than $937,000 in federal grants from agencies such as the EPA and the Department of Homeland Security.
The coordinated litigation campaign led by organizations like CJP is seen as a threat to American energy policies by several policymakers who continue to voice their concerns.
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