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Youth-led climate change lawsuits gain momentum with backing of liberal, dark money group
High-stakes climate litigation being pursued across the country and worldwide, purportedly on behalf of children, can be traced to a single, left-wing public interest law firm with big-money backing and ties to longtime progressive activists, Fox News Digital has learned.
The Oregon-based firm Our Children’s Trust (OCT), which is classified as a 501(c)(3) public charity, was established more than a decade ago to provide youth with legal services “to secure their legal rights to a safe climate.” Since its founding, OCT has filed multiple federal lawsuits, spearheaded legal actions in all 50 states and is even involved in litigation in Canada, Mexico, Pakistan, India and Uganda.
“These young people are doing exactly what they’ve been taught by elders — when they see a wrong, they take steps to right it,” Mat dos Santos, OCT’s co-executive director and general counsel, said last week.
Dos Santos, who is tasked with overseeing OCT’s legal program, made the comments during a rally outside the White House where activists called for President Biden to take their side in Juliana v. United States, one of several cases the group is pursuing. According to OCT, the plaintiffs in the case are 21 young Americans who are concerned the government has violated their constitutional rights to life, liberty and property.
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Youth plaintiffs represented by Our Children’s Trust await the start of the nation’s first youth climate change trial at Montana’s First Judicial District Court in Helena, Montana, on June 12, 2023. (William Campbell/Getty Images)
OCT filed its complaint in Juliana v. United States in 2015, arguing that the federal government has contributed to global warming for decades, despite being well aware of the cataclysmic impacts of climate change. The lawsuit — which is currently making its way through the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals — takes aim at policies allowing fossil fuel extraction, transportation and combustion.
Days before the White House rally, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., one of the original architects of the Green New Deal, released a podcast with dos Santos and some of the plaintiffs in the case. In the episode, the senior lawmaker lauded the children for “fighting against what preceding generations have done to pollute and to create this problem.”
The group’s growing suite of climate litigation, meanwhile, broadly follows the same format, asserting on behalf of a handful of youth that federal or state agencies are harming their future by allowing fossil fuel reliance.
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OCT’s most recent lawsuit was filed in December against the Environmental Protection Agency, and its most successful case so far has been Held v. State of Montana, which yielded a favorable judgment last year. The First Judicial District Court of Montana’s ruling, which has since been appealed by the state, struck down certain state laws promoting fossil fuels and concluded youth plaintiffs were harmed by said laws.
“Today, for the first time in U.S. history, a court ruled on the merits of a case that the government violated the constitutional rights of children through laws and actions that promote fossil fuels, ignore climate change, and disproportionately imperil young people,” Julia Olson, OCT’s chief legal counsel and co-executive director, said after the ruling in August 2023.
Wind turbines are seen at the Top of the World energy facility in Rollings Hills, Wyoming. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
But, according to a Fox News Digital review of financial filings, career databases and recruitment documents, OCT has attracted the financial backing of major left-wing philanthropic nonprofits and is led by longtime activists. In its 2023 impact report, the group stated it receives pro bono legal support from people affiliated with Earthjustice and Oxfam America, two massive groups involved in climate lawsuits.
OCT also actively recruits children between the ages of 8 and 18 years old to serve as the face of their legal efforts. Children interested in serving as plaintiffs in OCT’s cases are directed to an online interest form, which asks applicants for a wide range of contact information, including their pronouns, and how climate change has impacted them personally.
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“Our Children’s Trust exploits well-intentioned kids, using them as political cover to achieve its goal of shutting down responsible energy development in Montana and around the nation,” said Chase Scheuer, a spokesperson for Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen. Knudsen has taken the lead in defending his state’s energy policies in Held v. State of Montana.
“Unable to implement policies through the normal processes of representative government, they are trying to override the will of the people and use the courts to impose their extremist climate agenda,” Scheuer continued.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is defending his state in Held v. State of Montana, which Our Children’s Trust filed on behalf of a handful of children. (Fox News)
Overall, OCT reports having more than $5.4 million in net assets and received $2.2 million in financial contributions in 2022 and $3.2 million in contributions a year prior, according to its tax forms. While the group’s donors are hidden from public view, a review of various liberal nonprofits’ tax forms shows the group routinely receives large grants.
For example, in 2022, it received $200,000 from the Amalgamated Charitable Foundation; $100,000 from the Alex C. Walker Foundation; $100,000 from Impact Assets; and donations worth $50,000 from the Jacob & Terese Hershey Foundation and Park Foundation, among others. Those grantmaking nonprofits generally contribute to progressive social and environmental causes.
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The Amalgamated Foundation, OCT’s apparent largest financier, is the charitable arm of Amalgamated Bank, an operation focused on progressive issues and which is majority-owned and controlled by Workers United, a division of the massive labor union Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
Under the leadership of its executive director Anna Fink, the Amalgamated Foundation spearheaded a campaign after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot to pressure organizations to divert donations for Republicans to the Amalgamated Foundation instead. That program received backing from George Soros’ Open Society Foundation.
Sariel Sandoval is one of 16 youth plaintiffs suing the State of Montana over its contributions to climate change. (The Washington Post via Getty Images)
In addition, dos Santos and Olson, OCT’s co-executive directors, have a long history of progressive activism.
Dos Santos remains on the boards of the Transgender Law Center, Latino Network and the Chosen Family Law Center. He also previously served as legal director of the ACLU’s Oregon chapter, where he advocated for LGBT rights, immigrants and criminal justice reform. Dos Santos notably led a challenge against former President Donald Trump’s immigration actions and represented a transgender inmate demanding the state provide hormone therapy.
And Olson previously served as an attorney at Earthjustice before beginning her own firm, Wild Earth Advocates.
Other staff and members of OCT’s board of directors have ties to climate-focused organizations such as the Women’s Environmental and Development Organization, Western Environmental Law Center, Food & Water Watch and Columbia University’s Earth Institute.
OCT and the Amalgamated Charitable Foundation didn’t respond to requests for comment.
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SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The San Francisco Police Department is warning the public to be aware of recent jewelry robbery schemes targeting senior citizens around the city.
The perpetrators often operate as part of a larger criminal enterprise that targets victims who wear visible jewelry.
Thieves approach unsuspecting victims, engage them in conversation, and sometimes offer a “gift,” investigators said.
SFPD wrote, “If a stranger approaches you and attempts to make physical contact or offer a gift, step away and alert them that you are calling the police.”
One incident occurred on March 20, when officers were conducting an undercover robbery abatement operation.
“A plainclothes officer observed the occupants of a white BMW SUV approaching multiple individuals wearing jewelry, attempting to engage in conversation. Officers believed the occupants were casing for potential victims,” the police department wrote. “They observed the vehicle approach a victim near the corner of 17th Avenue and Cabrillo Street. The suspects engaged the victim in conversation and during the interaction, the suspect passenger appeared to place a necklace on the victim and then forcibly steal the victim’s jewelry.”
The BMW fled from officers until officers “disabled the vehicle” on Frederick Street, SFPD wrote. Officers arrested 37-year-old Ludovic-Iustinian Ceausu and 41- year-old Claudia Voinescu on suspicion of robbery, grand theft, elder abuse, conspiracy, and possession of stolen property.
Anyone who suspects they have been targeted in the jewelry scheme should contact police. “All victims are urged to contact the SFPD as quickly as possible if they become a victim. The SFPD will diligently investigate these cases,” the police department wrote.
DENVER (KDVR) — A recruit has died after participating in physical training at the Denver Sheriff Department Training Academy, officials report.
According to the Denver Sheriff Department, following physical training on Tuesday at the academy, Recruit Dorbor Mulbah “expressed discomfort and became unwell.”
DSD said staff members at the academy began life-saving medical measures on Mulbah.
Upon arrival, the Denver Fire Department and Denver Paramedics continued to provide critical medical attention before Mulbah was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead on Wednesday morning.
DSD provided the following statement in part:
“As a matter of protocol, we have asked the Administrative Investigative Unit to open an inquiry into the matter. We have deployed wellness and mental health resources for the Academy cadre, to include the Recruits.
We ask that the family’s privacy be honored during this difficult time. Thank you for keeping Recruit Mulbah’s family and our Department in your thoughts and prayers.”
DSD said Mulbah was set to graduate from the academy in May.
SEATTLE — As Seattle heads into the warmer months, growing safety concerns are surfacing along one of the city’s most popular destinations.
Neighbors around Alki Beach said they’re already seeing an increase in loud, late-night parties that in the past have been followed by crime, reckless driving, and even gun violence. They also question why enhanced safety measures seen in other parts of the city have yet to make their way to West Seattle.
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Members of Harbor-Alki-Neighbors said many people who live along Alki Avenue SW and Harbor Avenue SW simply don’t feel safe. They point to incidents involving bullets hitting homes and cars, businesses being broken into multiple times, and hit-and-run crashes that can involve impaired drivers.
Street racing is also a major concern, as some drivers use the waterfront roads as a high-speed circuit.
With the Southwest Precinct already facing staffing shortages, residents said police response times aren’t where they need to be, especially with summer crowds on the way.
Residents are also at a loss over city priorities. They point to new efforts at Golden Gardens, where private security will patrol overnight this summer, as well as Magnuson Park, where three officers will be permanently assigned.
Neighbors along Alki said similar or worse problems exist in their neighborhood, but there is no comparable security presence.
City leaders have taken some steps, such as installing additional lighting along Alki Avenue after a series of business break-ins. In the past, both the beach and Don Armeni boat ramp have been closed and cleared an hour early to help deter trouble. Still, after two shootings in the area this year, many said it’s not enough.
Neighbors are now calling for a stronger, long-term safety plan before the busiest months of summer arrive.
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