Report reveals rich out-of-state donors funding Louisiana’s anti-energy movement

A recent report by the Pelican Institute for Public Policy provides a case study on the influence of nonprofit-networks, funded by a small set of powerful foundations, on public policy in Louisiana.

Barriers to Louisiana Energy Dominance outlines, beyond legal and regulatory factors, a “sophisticated network of advocacy organizations” and the methods by which it influences the public, policymakers, and energy production. Some of the more striking takeaways from the report include a claim of Chinese communist influence, one rather Machiavellian public influence campaign, and Michael Bloomberg’s role in Louisiana state and local policy.

The network

The report centers its analysis on a coalition known as Louisianans Against False Solutions (LAFS), a group of nonprofits advocating for a transition away from fossil fuels. According to the study, twelve Louisiana-based members of this coalition collectively received at least $115.5 million in funding since 2020, 98.4 percent of which originated outside of the state. Members of LAFS include Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, Taproot Earth, and Alliance for Affordable Energy.

These networks are intricate. Multiple LAFS members are fiscally sponsored projects of other organizations; others are networks themselves of nonprofits. LAFS itself is a fiscally sponsored project of the Foundation for Louisiana.

The funders

The study identifies the top 30 donors to Louisiana-based LAFS members. The five with the largest contributions are:

• Waverley Street Foundation:- $15.3 million

• Windward Fund (part of the Arabella Network, now Sunflower Services) – $9.8 million

• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation – $8 million

• Freedom Together Foundation – $6.5 million

• Amalgamated Charitable Foundation Inc. – $6.5 million

They are familiar names, frequently identified in CRC and InfluenceWatch research for their role in funding left-of-center policy advocacy. The list continues among the likes of the Ford Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and Tides Foundation.

The methods

This network influences Louisiana energy policy through shaping public opinion, lobbying policymakers, and litigation.

The report places particular emphasis on a subset of local organizations that present themselves as conservative while opposing energy development broadly. It points to the Louisiana CO2 Alliance and its affiliated coalition, Save My Louisiana, as examples. These groups present themselves as conservative, while reportedly coordinating with left-of-center and national anti–fossil fuel organizations such as the Sierra Club and the Bold Alliance. In one instance, a board member of Save My Louisiana was identified participating in a strategy call with activists discussing how to jointly oppose energy infrastructure projects. To appeal to conservative audiences, advocacy groups such as Louisiana CO2 Alliance frame messaging around property rights, local control, and opposition to corporate welfare.

Groups within the network “maintain sophisticated media operations” that provide local journalists ready-made materials that make it easier to frame Louisiana energy issues in terms of environmental injustice, climate harm, or corporate malfeasance. Some groups fund journalism projects on these issues directly.

Alliance for Affordable Energy and others lobby the Louisiana Public Service Commission and in legislative debates, advocating renewable energy mandates, efficiency programs, and tighter limits on traditional energy development.

A further, rather prominent method is litigation and legal pressure. The report highlights organizations such as the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, Healthy Gulf, Louisiana Environmental Action Network, and Rise St. James for creating and supporting legal challenges that slow, raise the cost of, or block energy development altogether.

Bloomberg

According to the report, Michael Bloomberg has spent more than building a national network that operates directly in state and local policy. In Louisiana, Bloomberg-backed funding supports similar initiatives.

“Direct government integration,” as the report describes it, is one facet of the strategy. Bloomberg-funded programs place fellows inside state and local agencies, embedding externally funded staff within public institutions to advance Bloomberg policy priorities. These programs also provide “free” technical assistance, data analysis, and policy development support. In New Orleans, the city engaged extensively with Bloomberg climate initiatives through its Office of Resilience and Sustainability, receiving technical support from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and participating in Bloomberg’s broader city network initiatives including C40 Cities and the Global Covenant of Mayors. Through this support, the city adopted a Climate Action Plan with targets including net zero emissions by 2050 and 100 percent clean electricity by 2035.

Energy Foundation China, Earthjustice and foreign influence

The report outlines the network’s connection to Energy Foundation China (EFC) and U.S. Energy Foundation (EF), which are facing—according to the report—“intense scrutiny” over alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

EFC and EF are nominally distinct organizations. However, they were previously the same legal entity before splitting in 2019. The report notes shared office space into 2022 and shared personnel through at least 2024. The foundations have been accused of moving millions to US-based organizations to advance Chinese energy policies and “climate lawfare aimed at weakening the United States.” Six of the twelve Louisiana-based LAFS groups have received a total of $6.4 million from EFC and EF.

The climate litigation group Earthjustice sits at the center of this network, with ties to EFC and EF, Michael Bloomberg, and the Louisiana advocacy networks such as LAFS. Employing 220 lawyers and engaged in 680 active legal cases, it maintains an active role in Louisiana, representing local activist groups in lawsuits, permit challenges, and civil rights complaints. It has received $8.5 million from EFC and EF since 2006, and its leadership overlaps with the network; according to its 2025 Annual Report, Earthjustice’s chair of the board of trustees, Stuart Clarke, also serves as board chair for EF.

Earthjustice maintains formal partnerships with Bloomberg’s climate initiatives and has received $34.25 million from the Bloomberg Family Foundation (now Bloomberg Philanthropies).

Taken together, Barriers to Louisiana’s Energy Dominance describes a concerted influence campaign. Large out-of-state foundations supply Louisiana advocacy and activist groups with money, legal capacity, media support, and even direct integration into local government. The result is a politics that presents as local and organic but is materially sustained by far-flung foundations.