Congressional Republicans are demanding documents from lawyers who work on climate lawsuits against the oil and gas industry as part of an investigation into a legal education organization that provides climate science courses to judges.
Two attorneys who have been active in lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry have until Wednesday to deliver materials about their interactions with the Environmental Law Institute to the House Judiciary Committee, according to letters signed by Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who chairs the Subcommittee on Courts.
The inquiry comes amid an uptick in cases against the fossil fuel industry brought by more than two dozen local governments seeking to hold oil and gas producers financially accountable for climate change. Michigan last week became the 11th state to file such a suit.
The probe also marks a continuing effort by Republicans to target the Environmental Law Institute which came under scrutiny in 2023 after industry and conservative groups raised questions about the organization and the objectivity of judges handling climate lawsuits following a handful of losses at the Supreme Court.
