Today, Americans for Public Trust filed a complaint against Energy Foundation China (EF China) and U.S. Energy Foundation (U.S. EF) for violating Florida’s Solicitation of Contributions Act. EF China has ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and spends tens of millions of dollars in foreign money pushing extremist environmental policies in America. The complaint alleges EF China, and its affiliate organization U.S. EF, accepted prohibited contributions or other things of value from a “foreign source of concern,” and it identifies the systemic interconnectedness of EF China and the CCP, which all highlight the need for an investigation.
Click HERE to read the full complaint.
“Energy Foundation China is a de facto CCP influence operation designed to pump millions of dollars into radical, pro-China climate initiatives. There is substantial evidence suggesting Energy Foundation China and the U.S. Energy Foundation violated Florida law by accepting contributions or other things of value from the CCP. We are calling on Florida officials to investigate these organizations and pursue any appropriate civil or criminal penalties to help ensure that our politics and policies are free of foreign influence.” – Caitlin Sutherland, Executive Director, Americans for Public Trust
Fast Facts:
- Florida law prohibits nonprofits, fundraisers, and related entities from accepting contributions from persons associated with foreign countries of concern like China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba.
- The Energy Foundation China, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit headquartered in California and registered as a charitable organization in Florida since 2018, has pumped tens of millions of dollars into extremist climate groups pushing policies that would harm America.
- EF China has 90 employees at their branch in Beijing, China and is under the supervision of the National Development and Reform Commission of China, a ministry-level department of China’s State Council that “implements the CPC Central Committee’s policies and decisions on development and reform.”
- Many of EF China’s officers, employees, and former staffers have held positions with various organizations operated or controlled by the CCP.
- The U.S. EF is an “affiliate organization” of EF China, is also based in California, and has registered as a charitable organization in Florida every year since 2022. It reported the same business address and telephone number on its Florida registration as EF China.
- Both EF China and U.S. EF appear to clearly violate Florida’s Solicitation of Contributions Act which prohibits nonprofits registered in Florida from accepting anything of value from a country of concern.
