Law360 has reported that the city of Charleston, South Carolina will not appeal last month’s dismissal of its controversial lawsuit seeking to hold energy companies civilly liable for damages that the city claims to be incurring due to climate change.
Originally brought in 2020, Charleston’s suit was one of a slew of similar actions filed by state and local governments, none of which have yet succeeded on the merits. Energy In Depth noted that “Charleston’s surrender fits the broader pattern: climate lawsuits brought by activist lawyers and municipalities are consistently failing in courts across the country.”
The San Francisco-based law firm Sher Edling helped represent Charleston in its unsuccessful litigation. Sher Edling specializes in such cases, and on its website it lists more than two dozen “climate damage and deception” lawsuits on behalf of states, cities, counties, and American Indian tribes.
The firm’s pursuit of these lawsuits was evidently underwritten (at least in part) by millions in 501(c)(3) charitable dollars, including from major American philanthropies such as the MacArthur Foundation and the Freedom Together Foundation (formerly known as the JPB Foundation). According to materials provided in response to Congressional inquiries, the firm received more than $13.6 million to support its climate litigation work from 2017 through the end of 2023.
These funds were initially routed through the Resources Legacy Fund, then beginning in 2021 through the Arabella Advisors-managed New Venture Fund. Both are 501(c)(3) charities. Sher Edling has stated that this money went to support “the firm’s general operations” in the area of climate litigation, rather than financing any particular lawsuit.
Needless to say, routing 501(c)(3) charitable dollars to a for-profit law firm for the purpose of facilitating government litigation against energy companies on a divisive political issue raises some important questions about the proper role of philanthropy.
For more information on this lawfare campaign and the funding behind it, please see:
Scott Walter’s Written Testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee (June 2025)
Why Are ‘Charities’ Funneling Millions Into Climate Change Lawfare? (January 2024)
The Activist Side Third-Party Litigation Support (November 2023)
