Congressional lobbyists representing fossil fuel firms, which are described as exacerbating the climate crisis, are also working for more than 300 local governments seeking funding to recover from climate damage. This finding comes from a new analysis by F Minus and Make Polluters Pay, which reviewed congressional lobbying disclosures for the first quarter of 2026.
The research also found that an additional 568 local governments hired fossil fuel lobbyists for non-climate related issues during the same period. Some of these issues were climate-adjacent, such as healthcare and home insurance.
Dozens of lobbying firms were identified as working on both sides of climate action. James Browning, founder of F Minus, suggested that local governments hiring these firms for climate mitigation, disaster relief, and wildlife conservation may be unaware that the same firms represent clients like ExxonMobil and the American Petroleum Institute (API).
For example, US multinational law firm Greenberg Traurig has lobbied for three fossil fuel entities that have opposed state-level legislation aimed at holding fossil fuel companies financially accountable for historic climate-warming emissions. Simultaneously, Miami-Dade county, Florida, hired the firm to lobby for shoreline protection and Everglades restoration.
New York and Vermont passed climate superfund legislation in 2024, and 13 other states considered similar laws this year. A report by Brown University indicates that the majority of people and groups testifying on state-level climate superfund bills were in favour of the legislation. However, in New Jersey, more registered lobbyists opposed the legislation than supported it across all four times the bills were introduced.