"Politics: Judge In Climate Case Made Skeptics Disclose Their Donors"

"A group of climate skeptics who weighed in on climate lawsuits in California revealed their recent funding, and court documents show their donors are a mix of fossil fuel companies and conservative think tanks.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup requested the funding sources and affiliations of the climate contrarians who submitted a friend-of-the-court brief arguing against mainstream research related to rising temperatures.

They include William Happer, an emeritus Princeton University physics professor; Willie Soon, a researcher affiliated with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; and Steve Koonin, a physicist at New York University and former Department of Energy official.

The documents show that Peabody Energy Corp. and the Heartland Institute have recently supported the skeptics' work. They also disclosed funding from Exxon Mobil Corp., which is a defendant in the case. Other donors include the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation, both of which have been influential in energy policy circles during the Trump administration."

Scott Waldman reports for ClimateWire March 22, 2018.