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High-stakes ambiance litigation being pursued crossed nan state and worldwide, purportedly connected behalf of children, tin beryllium traced to a single, left-wing nationalist liking rule firm pinch big-money backing and ties to longtime progressive activists, Fox News Digital has learned.
The Oregon-based patient Our Children’s Trust (OCT), which is classified arsenic a 501(c)(3) nationalist charity, was established much than a decade agone to supply younker pinch ineligible services "to unafraid their ineligible authorities to a safe climate." Since its founding, OCT has revenge aggregate national lawsuits, spearheaded ineligible actions successful each 50 states and is moreover progressive successful litigation successful Canada, Mexico, Pakistan, India and Uganda.
"These young group are doing precisely what they’ve been taught by elders — erstwhile they spot a wrong, they return steps to correct it," Mat dos Santos, OCT's co-executive head and wide counsel, said past week.
Dos Santos, who is tasked pinch overseeing OCT's ineligible program, made nan comments during a rally extracurricular nan White House wherever activists called for President Biden to return their broadside successful Juliana v. United States, 1 of respective cases nan group is pursuing. According to OCT, nan plaintiffs successful nan lawsuit are 21 young Americans who are concerned nan authorities has violated their law authorities to life, liberty and property.
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Youth plaintiffs represented by Our Children’s Trust await nan commencement of nan nation's first younker ambiance alteration proceedings astatine Montana's First Judicial District Court successful Helena, Montana, connected June 12, 2023. (William Campbell/Getty Images)
OCT revenge its title successful Juliana v. United States successful 2015, arguing that nan national authorities has contributed to world warming for decades, contempt being good alert of nan cataclysmic impacts of ambiance change. The suit — which is presently making its measurement done nan U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals — takes purpose astatine policies allowing fossil substance extraction, proscription and combustion.
Days earlier nan White House rally, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., 1 of nan original architects of nan Green New Deal, released a podcast pinch dos Santos and immoderate of nan plaintiffs successful nan case. In nan episode, nan elder lawmaker lauded nan children for "fighting against what preceding generations person done to pollute and to create this problem."
The group's increasing suite of ambiance litigation, meanwhile, broadly follows nan aforesaid format, asserting connected behalf of a fistful of younker that national aliases authorities agencies are harming their early by allowing fossil substance reliance.
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OCT's astir caller suit was revenge successful December against nan Environmental Protection Agency, and its astir successful lawsuit truthful acold has been Held v. State of Montana, which yielded a favorable judgement past year. The First Judicial District Court of Montana's ruling, which has since been appealed by nan state, struck down definite authorities laws promoting fossil fuels and concluded younker plaintiffs were harmed by said laws.
"Today, for nan first clip successful U.S. history, a tribunal ruled connected nan merits of a lawsuit that nan authorities violated nan law authorities of children done laws and actions that beforehand fossil fuels, disregard ambiance change, and disproportionately imperil young people," Julia Olson, OCT's main ineligible counsel and co-executive director, said aft nan ruling successful August 2023.
Wind turbines are seen astatine nan Top of nan World power installation successful Rollings Hills, Wyoming. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)
But, according to a Fox News Digital reappraisal of financial filings, profession databases and recruitment documents, OCT has attracted nan financial backing of awesome left-wing philanthropic nonprofits and is led by longtime activists. In its 2023 effect report, nan group stated it receives pro bono ineligible support from group affiliated pinch Earthjustice and Oxfam America, 2 monolithic groups progressive successful ambiance lawsuits.
OCT besides actively recruits children betwixt nan ages of 8 and 18 years aged to service arsenic nan look of their ineligible efforts. Children willing successful serving arsenic plaintiffs successful OCT's cases are directed to an online liking form, which asks applicants for a wide scope of interaction information, including their pronouns, and really ambiance alteration has impacted them personally.
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"Our Children’s Trust exploits well-intentioned kids, utilizing them arsenic governmental screen to execute its extremity of shutting down responsible power improvement successful Montana and astir nan nation," said Chase Scheuer, a spokesperson for Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen. Knudsen has taken nan lead successful defending his state's power policies successful Held v. State of Montana.
"Unable to instrumentality policies done nan normal processes of typical government, they are trying to override nan will of nan group and usage nan courts to enforce their extremist ambiance agenda," Scheuer continued.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is defending his authorities successful Held v. State of Montana, which Our Children’s Trust revenge connected behalf of a fistful of children. (Fox News)
Overall, OCT reports having much than $5.4 cardinal successful nett assets and received $2.2 cardinal successful financial contributions successful 2022 and $3.2 cardinal successful contributions a twelvemonth prior, according to its taxation forms. While nan group's donors are hidden from nationalist view, a reappraisal of various wide nonprofits' taxation forms shows nan group routinely receives ample grants.
For example, successful 2022, it received $200,000 from nan Amalgamated Charitable Foundation; $100,000 from nan Alex C. Walker Foundation; $100,000 from Impact Assets; and donations worthy $50,000 from nan Jacob & Terese Hershey Foundation and Park Foundation, among others. Those grantmaking nonprofits mostly lend to progressive societal and biology causes.
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The Amalgamated Foundation, OCT's evident largest financier, is nan charitable limb of Amalgamated Bank, an cognition focused connected progressive issues and which is majority-owned and controlled by Workers United, a section of nan monolithic labour national Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
Under nan activity of its executive head Anna Fink, nan Amalgamated Foundation spearheaded a run aft nan Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot to unit organizations to divert donations for Republicans to nan Amalgamated Foundation instead. That programme received backing from George Soros’ Open Society Foundation.
Sariel Sandoval is 1 of 16 younker plaintiffs suing nan State of Montana complete its contributions to ambiance change. (The Washington Post via Getty Images)
In addition, dos Santos and Olson, OCT's co-executive directors, person a agelong history of progressive activism.
Dos Santos remains connected nan boards of nan Transgender Law Center, Latino Network and nan Chosen Family Law Center. He besides antecedently served arsenic ineligible head of nan ACLU's Oregon chapter, wherever he advocated for LGBT rights, immigrants and criminal justness reform. Dos Santos notably led a situation against erstwhile President Donald Trump's migration actions and represented a transgender inmate demanding nan authorities supply hormone therapy.
And Olson antecedently served arsenic an attorney astatine Earthjustice earlier opening her ain firm, Wild Earth Advocates.
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Other unit and members of OCT's committee of board person ties to climate-focused organizations specified arsenic nan Women’s Environmental and Development Organization, Western Environmental Law Center, Food & Water Watch and Columbia University's Earth Institute.
OCT and nan Amalgamated Charitable Foundation didn't respond to requests for comment.
Thomas Catenacci is simply a authorities writer for Fox News Digital.
