The outcome of one green group’s legal fight against an energy company could shape the future of environmental activism.
Greenpeace USA is still hoping for a win in a high-stakes controversy that pits them against an energy behemoth in a long-running legal fight. An eventual victory in court could bolster the group’s fundraising, hiring power and influence after the yearslong battle that has sapped resources and morale.
But a loss would be monumental — not just for Greenpeace, but for the environmental movement and activists more broadly who view the green group’s legal predicament as a proxy war between nonprofits that engage in civil disobedience and their critics on the right. A Greenpeace loss could also add fuel to conservatives’ push to crack down on left-leaning nonprofits they say are benefiting from tax breaks while they break the law.
Greenpeace is facing possible bankruptcy as part of a lengthy legal battle against Energy Transfer, a massive oil and gas pipeline company co-founded by Trump megadonor Kelcy Warren. The energy company is challenging Greenpeace’s role in protesting the Dakota Access pipeline in 2016 and 2017.
