Chinese Influence in Climate Change Lawsuits Threatens to Derail U.S. Energy Industry
27th June 2025
“Hey, if you’re going to shoot yourselves in the groin with this climate-change scam, we’ll be happy to load your gun.”
A new op-ed from oil services CEO Dan Eberhart in Forbes makes the case that climate change litigation is a growing threat to U.S. energy – and that the U.S. could fall behind China as a result.
He notes that Senator Ted Cruz has repeatedly voiced concern that American energy security is under threat—not from foreign armies or economic collapse, but from a coordinated legal campaign masquerading as environmental activism. This week, Cruz’s Judiciary oversight subcommittee is convening a hearing to dig into what he believes is a coordinated effort between China and the U.S. climate litigation movement aimed at undercutting U.S. energy dominance.
According to Eberhart’s piece in Forbes, the wave of climate lawsuits, particularly those brought by firms like Sher Edling, are supported by a network of well-funded foundations and advocacy organizations. These entities, he argues, may be unintentionally serving the strategic goals of America’s geopolitical adversaries—especially China—by hampering domestic fossil fuel production and increasing reliance on foreign-controlled clean energy supply chains.