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New Questions over Climate Litigation Financing as NJ AG Files New Case

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin filed a climate lawsuit last Tuesday just weeks after being confirmed by the state legislature. Platkin was only confirmed to the role officially last month after serving in an interim capacity for several months – which, in New Jersey, is an appointed position – and it looks like the special interests and activists behind climate litigation have successfully pressured Platkin to join the chorus of climate suits filed in states and municipalities across the country. Ironically, the announcement of the case came just three years since a New York State Supreme Court judge ruled against the New York Attorney General on a similar case.

If the talking points from AG Platkin’s press conference sound familiar, it’s because they are pulled from the usual suspects backing climate litigation across the country. Platkin hired Sher Edling to serve as outside counsel, the San Francisco-based law firm that represents dozens of states and municipalities in their climate suits on a contingency fee basis while simultaneously accepting outside funds from wealthy donors. The state of New Jersey has also been a prime recruitment target of the Center for Climate Integrity (CCI), the national activist group directly engaging with states and municipalities around the country attempting to persuade public officials to join the litigation campaign.

Read more at EIDClimate.org.

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