A new report by Americans for Public Trust claims that a group of foreign-based charities has quietly spent almost $2 billion funding U.S. nonprofit organizations engaged in climate advocacy, litigation, and policy campaigns.
The 31-page study, Foreign Charities Fueling Extreme Policies in the U.S., names five European foundations that it says have steered hundreds of millions of dollars into American organizations promoting rapid transitions away from fossil fuels and other energy reforms.
The report identifies Britain's Children's Investment Fund Foundation, Denmark's KR Foundation, Switzerland's Oak Foundation and Laudes Foundation, and the United Kingdom's Quadrature Climate Foundation as key financial sources.
Together, the group is described as an "international network of activist funders" advancing a coordinated policy agenda across the U.S. energy and environmental landscape.
According to the findings, the Quadrature Climate Foundation alone has directed about $530 million to 41 American groups since 2020. Its beneficiaries include the ClimateWorks Foundation, the Environmental Defense Fund, and Project Sunrise, which the report links to efforts pushing for aggressive renewable-energy transitions.
Denmark's KR Foundation reportedly contributed roughly $36 million to 53 U.S. groups between 2015 and 2024, including the Conservation Law Foundation and the Center for International Environmental Law, both active in climate litigation.
The Swiss-based Oak Foundation allegedly granted more than $750 million to 152 American groups over the past decade, with funding tied to organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council and the New Venture Fund.
The Laudes Foundation, launched in 2020 by the Brenninkmeijer family of the C&A clothing empire, reportedly gave nearly $20 million to U.S. recipients, including the Pulitzer Center and Ceres.
The report portrays these funds as a largely unregulated form of foreign influence shaping U.S. policy through the nonprofit sector. It urges federal and state investigations into potential violations of existing laws and recommends new restrictions on foreign financing of domestic advocacy.
The document concludes that "unchecked foreign money" has become a powerful force in shaping the nation's energy agenda, warning that tighter oversight is needed to safeguard U.S. independence and transparency in policy debates.
The administration of President Donald Trump is working to offset that leverage. In September, Trump told delegates and foreign leaders at a NATO conference that "windmills are pathetic," and called the notion of a carbon footprint "a hoax made up by people with evil intentions."
Trump warned, "If you don't get away from the green energy scam, your country is going to fail."
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