Comer Demands Docs on Kerry, Anti-coal Environmentalists

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer Friday demanded from Secretary of State Antony Blinken documents and communications between White House climate czar John Kerry and "leftist" environmental groups about the Powering Past Coal Alliance, a coalition of countries and organizations seeking to phase out coal as a means of generating power more quickly.

In a letter sent to Blinken, the Kentucky Republican asked for all off-the-record email correspondence, calls, and meetings between the groups, Kerry, his office, and the State Department, including discussions about the alliance, accusing Kerry of "collusion" with the environmental organizations.

"The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is continuing its investigation into the activities of the office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate (SPEC)," Comer wrote in the letter. "Documents produced to the Committee reveal that the State Department sought and received feedback from leftist environmental groups on the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) and enabled those groups to influence U.S. foreign policy."

The documents, he added, "raise significant concerns that confidential information related to U.S. foreign policy, energy policy, and national security policy, has been shared with these groups, including in off-the-record meetings with Envoy John Kerry."

The letter also requests that the State Department provide a "staff-level briefing and additional documents and communication" about the United States' decision to join the PPCA. 

Kerry announced during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai last year that the United States had joined the PPCA. He also announced during the conference that the United States will work with other governments to speed up efforts to develop nuclear fusion a new source of carbon-free energy.

Comer said the Oversight Committee has been making requests about Kerry's role in the Biden administration since 2021. Still, the White House only started providing documents and communications after he threatened to compel them to be turned over. 

This resulted in thousands of documents being turned over, he said. 

"On March 2, 2021, the State Department solicited and received guidance from the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) regarding the PPCA," said Comer. "On April 6, 2021, leftist environmental groups including the Sierra Club, E3G, NRDC, Solutions for Our Climate, and World Resources Institute submitted a memo to the State Department regarding the PPCA."

The documents also revealed that the SPEC office and the State Department had consulted with the environmental groups about foreign countries' coal infrastructure. 

"These exchanges raise concerns as to what information Envoy Kerry and the SPEC office are providing to organizations like the NRDC in exchange for this information," said Comer in the letter. "The Committee is concerned that U.S. government officials providing similar nonpublic information to such groups could enable them to provide it to foreign governments for efforts undermining U.S. national and energy security.”

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