The Secret Group Shaping Federal Climate Policy with Dark Money Funding

A little-known organization based in Boston has emerged as a powerful force in federal climate policymaking. Ceres, a nonprofit advocacy group founded in 1989, has quietly built extensive networks with financial institutions, pension funds, labor unions, and multinational corporations, all rallying behind left-wing climate policies.

According to Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute, Ceres is using subterfuge and the support of wealthy investment firms and big corporations to shape the climate agenda. Isaac claims that while they claim to be saving the world, they are actually profiting from their advocacy and destroying the planet in the process.

Ceres has three main membership networks: the Investor Network, the BICEP Network, and the Company Network. Their Investor Network includes over 220 institutional investors managing a staggering $46 trillion in assets. The BICEP and Company Networks consist of companies like Doordash, General Mills, HP, Ikea, Kaiser Permanente, McDonald's, Nestle, Netflix, Nike, PayPal, Salesforce, Starbucks, and Unilever, all working towards adopting strategies to lower emissions.

Isaac argues that Ceres' influence and power are being used to push policies that benefit Chinese companies, who control a significant portion of critical mineral production for green energy technology. He believes that these policies are hurting American energy producers and increasing the cost of electricity, leading to hardship for low-income households.

Ceres has been actively involved in policy development, collaborating with senators like Tom Carper, D-Del., and Ed Markey, D-Mass. They have also spent over $1 million lobbying on federal environmental issues since 2017.

The organization has raised tens of millions of dollars to fund its operations, with the majority of funding coming from left-wing grant-making foundations and anonymous donors. One of the key funders is the New Venture Fund, a major player in the billion-dollar Arabella Advisors dark money network.

Ceres' activities have drawn the attention of Congress, with House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan issuing a subpoena to investigate potential collusion through the organization's climate-focused initiatives. Critics argue that Ceres is facilitating the imposition of progressive environmental goals on corporations, potentially violating antitrust laws.

As the CEO of Ceres, Mindy Lubber, highlights the importance of sustainability and climate policy, the organization's work has attracted both praise and scrutiny. Their efforts to shape climate policy with dark money funding raise questions about transparency and the influence of powerful interest groups.

As the debate over climate policy intensifies, the story of Ceres offers a glimpse into the complex web of organizations and funding that drive the global climate agenda.