China Uses This Nonprofit Network To Wreck American Energy

A Chinese Communist Party connected organization gave millions of dollars to an environmental law non-profit that targets energy projects in Louisiana.

The Pelican Institute For Public Policy published a report outlining the institutional barriers preventing Louisiana from developing its energy industry. Earthjustice, an environmental law organization headquartered in San Francisco, California, and receives millions of dollars in funding from a non-profit organization with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) connections, according to the Pelican Institute.

Earthjustice has represented green advocacy groups such as RISE St James, Concerned Citizens of St John and the Alliance for Affordable Energy in law suits, permit challenges, and civil rights complaints, according to the Pelican Institute. RISE St. James and Alliance for Affordable Energy are part of Louisiana Against False Solutions (LAF), an advocacy group coalition dedicated to transitioning the energy market away from fossil fuels, according to the Pelican Institute.

Earthjustice targeted a proposed petrochemical plant from Formosa Plastics, Denka’s synthetic rubber-producing facility, a Mitsubishi Chemical plant and a methane gas power plant produced by Entergy Louisiana, according to the Pelican Institute.

Earthjustice received $6,562,936 from Energy Foundation China (EFC) since 2003, a non-profit organization with ties to the Chinese government. EFC CEO Ji Zhou previously worked in leadership positions with China’s official National Center For Climate Change Strategy which is embedded in the National Development and Reform Commission of the State Council. Zhou attended the 2015 Paris Climate Talks as a Chinese delegate, according to reporting by State Armor.

EFC board member Hongjun Zhang, a Washington DC based lawyer, was previously a legislative director for the Chinese National People’s Congress, according to a report by The Washington Free Beacon.

EFC has a registered headquarters in San Francisco and one in Beijing registered with the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, according to Influence Watch.

EFC used to be part of the U.S. Energy Foundation (EF), which also funds LAF associated groups, until they split into two distinct organizations in 2019. EF and EFC still shared the same office in San Francisco after the split until 2022 and shared company personnel until at least 2024 with 6 EFC employees being compensated by EF up to July 24, according to the Pelican Institute.

EF has been accused of funding U.S. organizations to advance Chinese energy interests through lawfare against the American energy sector which was discussed in a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in 2025, according to the Pelican Institute. EF and EFC gave $6.4 million to groups associated with the LAF, according to the Pelican Institute.

The Pelican Institute noted that the LAF groups received nearly $115.5 million from donors outside of Louisiana, such as the Bloomberg Philanthropies, Rockefeller Family Fund, Bezos Earth Fund, and Tides Foundation which is seeded by George Soros.

Earthjustice partnered with former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s over $1 billion Beyond Carbon initiative and $85 million Beyond Petrochemicals campaign, according to the Pelican Institute.

The Beyond Carbon initiative aggressively pursued efforts to transition the U.S. away from carbon-polluting energy sources and wants to shutdown every coal plant in America by 2030, according to a report by Earth Justice. The Beyond Petrochemical campaign wanted to block more than 120 petrochemical plants proposed to be open in Louisiana, Texas, and the Ohio River Valley by using “front-line communities,” according to a report by Earth Justice.

The Bloomberg Family Foundation has donated at least $34.25 million to Earthjustice and the nonprofit expressed pride in working alongside Bloomberg, calling him a “powerful ally,” according to the Pelican Institute.

The Daily Caller News Foundation reported in 2018 that Republican lawmakers on the House Committee on Natural Resources sent a letter to Earthjustice demanding documents regarding the organization’s ties with foreign officials and environmental activists.

Earthjustice registered under FARA in 2019 for having young environmental activists as foreign principals from countries such as South Africa, Brazil, India, Nigeria, and France, according to a FARA registration statement.