A global warming summit hosted by California Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown is “part of a major climate industry that funnels donor money through nonprofit organizations to staff up politicians’ offices,” according to a Competitive Enterprise Institute report.
CEI senior fellow Chris Horner recently released a report based on government records that “suggest that Brown’s Summit is also intended to act as a privately underwritten complement to the two-week official” United Nations meeting set to take place after the November elections.
Brown’s summit is part of a larger effort of Democratic governors and wealthy liberal foundations to privately underwrite a global warming agenda, including funding of state advisers, attorneys and coalitions.
The Global Climate Action Summit began Wednesday, bringing together activists and politicians from around the world to promote the goals of the Paris climate accord that went into effect in 2016.
The summit is intended to give prominent activists and political leaders a platform to opine on global warming ahead of the election, Horner wrote. The summit boasts a long list of prominent speakers, including former Vice President Al Gore, former Secretary of State John Kerry and actor Alec Baldwin.
Brown is listed as a co-chair of the summit along with other notables, including former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chinese government official Xie Zhenhua. While sold as an official state event, it’s actually supported by group of liberal nonprofits, according to Horner’s report.
“The September event is just one component of a sprawling enterprise that underwrites ‘support functions’ for politicians to advocate the parties’ aligned policy agenda,” Horner wrote in the report. (RELATED: Enviros Still Not Happy With Gov. Brown’s Legacy, Plan To Protest His International Climate Summit)
Activists not only funded the summit, but also provided a “handful of senior, full-time, and off-the-books staff members to Governor Brown,” according to a copy of his report obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
The United Nations Foundation (UNF), a nonprofit founded by media mogul Ted Turner in the 1990s, helped Brown’s office hire executives for the upcoming climate summit, according to emails obtained by Horner through government records requests.
Its jobs ad said the employees would work for UNF and be “seconded to the office of the Governor of California.” The job listings were posted on a listserv created by environmental activist groups.
UNF houses the U.S. Climate Alliance (USCA) that Brown, along with other state governors, formed to promote the Paris climate accord after President Donald Trump promised to withdraw from the Obama-era agreement.
USCA is also supported by the Hewlett Foundation, Energy Foundation and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Those foundations also fund climate and anti-fossil fuels activists.
The summit’s webpage confirms the “United Nations Foundation provides strategic, fundraising and communications support for” the climate summit.
Brown is only one of three Democratic governors’ offices heavily involved in getting liberal foundations to pay for political goals. Horner considers this money “off the books” since it’s coming from private sources, not state legislatures.
Democratic state governors hope to mobilize $50 million by 2020 from nonprofits toward promoting liberal climate policies, according to Horner’s report, which builds upon a previous report on activists funding state attorneys.
Follow Michael on Facebook and Twitter
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.