A dark money fund backed by Hollywood elites is the lead benefactor of Climate Defiance, the environmentalist group known for blocking highways and disrupting high-profile events in Washington, D.C., and across the country, according to the fund's annual filings.
The California-based Climate Emergency Fund stated in its most recent annual report that it provided seed funding for Climate Defiance in 2023 and is "incredibly proud" to remain its lead funder. It is unclear how much money the Climate Emergency Fund donated—its tax forms reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon do not show direct contributions to Climate Defiance.
The fund's filings, however, show that it wired $357,500 to the Oil and Gas Action Network, which trains climate protesters and manages a network of 30 climate disruption groups. The Oil and Gas Action Network in turn sent $296,000 to Climate Defiance Action, the 501(c)(4) that conducts the bulk of the Climate Defiance's operations. Both the Oil and Gas Action Network and Climate Defiance solicit donations through the Action Network, an open platform previously employed by the Democratic National Committee and other progressive groups for fundraising.
That $296,000 grant represents more than half of the $542,056 that Climate Defiance Action pulled in last year via contributions and grants. A representative for the Climate Emergency Fund declined to comment, telling the Free Beacon that the fund "won't have a comment on its financials or the activists it supports."
The Climate Emergency Fund's support for Climate Defiance provides a window into how millionaire elites, including Hollywood actors and producers, are fueling some of the largest and most impactful protest movements to shut down fossil fuels, which have unleashed economic prosperity across the world. The oil and gas industry contributes $1.8 trillion to America's gross domestic product and has created 10.8 million direct and indirect jobs nationwide, according to the American Petroleum Institute.
Since the climate fund was founded in 2019, it has raised millions of dollars from actors such as Jeremy Strong, Chelsea Handler, and Thomas Middleditch; Walt Disney heiress and filmmaker Abigail Disney; director Adam McKay; and producers Shannon O'Leary Joy, Geralyn Dreyfous, Getty Oil heiress Aileen Getty, and Rory Kennedy, the daughter of former attorney general Robert F. Kennedy. Strong, McKay, Joy, and Kennedy all serve on the Climate Emergency Fund's board of directors.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D., N.Y.) political action committee Courage to Change also gave $9,000 to the Climate Emergency Fund in 2021 and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton's nonprofit Onward Together has donated $500,000 to the fund in recent years.
For its part, Climate Defiance—whose stated mission is to end the production of oil and gas—has emerged as one of the nation's loudest and most disruptive activist groups. The group first made headlines when it disrupted the White House Correspondents Dinner in May 2023 with group members blocking nearby roads while holding signs calling for President Joe Biden to "end fossil fuels."
Throughout 2023, Climate Defiance crashed dozens of fundraisers, conferences, and engagements to protest prominent federal leaders such as Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Sen. Joe Manchin (I., W.Va.), whom a member of the group called a "sick fuck." The group accused those officials of being too friendly to fossil fuel interests.
Climate Defiance also claimed victory for Biden's action in January 2024 issuing a moratorium on all pending natural gas export projects. Weeks earlier, the group's leaders were granted a private meeting with White House clean energy czar John Podesta, whom they urged to implement a "swift end to any federal support for new fossil fuel infrastructure," according to a letter written by the group.
After Biden ordered the moratorium, the White House issued a press release touting Climate Defiance's support for the policy. "This is the most significant move any President has ever made on stopping fossil fuels," Climate Defiance was quoted as saying.
Climate Defiance and the Oil and Gas Action Network did not respond to requests for comment.
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