Wealthy Figures in the Fossil Fuel Industry Fund Political Campaigns Targeting Transgender Rights
Transgender Rights Under Siege, Funded by Big Oil
Unmasking the hidden ties between the fossil fuel industry and anti-trans organizations
ABYSSAL VIEWS BY YESSENIA FUNES**
Just beneath the surface, a sinister movement stirs. It seeks to silence transgender individuals, driving them into the shadows of society. At the helm of this movement is none other than the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).
Last May, this conservative organization sued Minnesota over its support for trans rights in women's sports, arguing that allowing trans girls and women to compete is discriminatory toward cisgender girls and women. ADF, an advisor to Project 2025, has a history of opposing transgender rights, contributing to the drafting of model bathroom bills that compel trans persons to use the bathrooms conforming to their assigned sex at birth. The past years have seen over 100 anti-trans bills passed across the U.S., including 13 bathroom bills.
But where does ADF find the money to wage its war against transgender people? Despite regulations, it's hard to trace donations to nonprofits, but one undeniable source is the fossil fuel industry.
The Guardian's investigation revealed that Shell USA Company Foundation donated $58,002 to ADF between 2013 and 2022[1]. Phil Anschutz, a billionaire who built his fortune on fossil fuels and now operates live entertainment events such as Coachella, also contributed $110,000 to ADF between 2011 and 2013[1].
However, ADF is not the only anti-trans organization with ties to the fossil fuel sector. A recent analytical study of 45 right-wing groups advocating against transgender rights found that an astounding 80% have received funding from fossil fuel companies or billionaires[2]. The study was shared solely with Atmos and HEATED. Researchers identified 45 anti-trans groups, examined their donor disclosures, and discovered countless ties to the fossil fuel industry.
One of the investigation's key findings is the insidious manner in which the oil and gas industry uses its ill-gotten gains to harm transgender individuals, some of the most vulnerable to climate change impacts[1]. Although philanthropist Anschutz denies being anti-LGBTQIA+[1], he has ties to at least nine other conservative, transphobic entities, including Colorado Christian University, the Council for National Policy, Dare 2 Share Ministries, and the Family Research Council, per the new investigation.
The findings reveal the dark ways in which the oil and gas industry uses its dirty money to inflict harm on transgender individuals[1]. The climate crisis and the rights of transgender communities are inextricably linked, as anti-trans legislation and climate disasters pose a double whammy for these already marginalized people. States have instated anti-trans policies that criminalize the use of bathrooms corresponding to an individual's gender identity and offer bounties to those who report transgender persons[1]. The Trump administration has already proposed eliminating transgender healthcare under Medicare, further threatening the lives of trans adults[1].
The Climate Action Against Disinformation Coalition's communications working group co-chair, Philip Newell, believes this collaboration between the fossil fuel industry and anti-trans organizations poses a significant threat to both climate action and trans rights. Newell, alongside climate policy expert Vivian Taylor, calls for unity between the climate and LGBTQIA+ movements.[2][3]
The Ghostly Hands of Fossil Fuels
Newell and Taylor first began exploring the connections between fossil fuel money and anti-trans advocacy in 2021, while working for the now-defunct climate communications firm Climate Nexus[2]. They noticed how Republicans were using transgender people as "hate-bait to build support for their party, because their policy platform is otherwise unpopular"[2]. Inspired by the Republican victory in Virginia's gubernatorial election, they delved deeper into who was financing the organizational bodies pushing anti-trans rhetoric into legislative chambers and discovered tangible ties to the fossil fuel industry at every turn.
"If we care about climate, we're going to have to care about trans rights," Taylor said[3]. "And if we care about climate, we're going to have to find ways of getting America and the whole world past all forms of bigotry so that we can work together to face an existential threat to all of humanity and the natural world."
Dr. Cara Daggett, a senior fellow at the Research Institute for Sustainability in Germany, sees the issue as emblematic of a larger trend. "Fossil fuels have seeped into every crease of American politics," she said. "So, if you're concerned about this connection between anti-trans legislation and fossil fuel dollars, it's super important to acknowledge that money in politics is a gigantic problem—specifically fossil fuel dollars in American politics."
Indeed, fossil fuel tycoons like Farris and Dan Wilks, who made their fortunes on fracking, have reportedly supported anti-abortion efforts[2]. The Koch network, too, has contributed to right-wing groups advocating for violent border policies and immigration reform[2]. Although Democrats have taken fossil fuel donations, anti-trans legislation and climate disasters pose a double threat to transgender individuals[1].
Vanessa Raditz, a Ph.D. student studying queer climate justice movements at the University of Georgia, plans to continue the research initiated by Newell and Taylor. Raditz and her collaborators intend to expand the investigation to Canada, as local anti-trans policies mirror those in the U.S.[1] More pressing, perhaps, Raditz aims to demonstrate to both the climate and LGBTQIA+ movements the necessity of joining forces to combat the common enemy of fossil fuels.
"This is a story about building bridges with other vulnerable and targeted communities," they said. "Queers against fossil fuels: we lose—but maybe everyone against fossil fuels? Maybe then, we win."
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Exclusive: Malaysia upholds decree banning transgender people from registering as marrying.[58] Reuters (2021). Palestine bars transgender people from marrying for second time in two years.[59] Christian Post (2021). Brazil expels LGBTQ advocates from panel that monitors human rights abuses.[60] The Guardian (2020). Danish imam says LGBT activists should be executed for spreading sexual deviancy.[61] The Independent (2020). Ethiopia imposes death penalty for same-sex relationships.[62] BBC News (2021). Uganda minister calls for lesbian, gay and bisexual sex to be punished by death.[63] AFP (2017). Ugandan MP appeals court to uphold anti-gay law.[64] HuffPost (2014). Malaysia sentences Islamic preacher to jail and caning for insulting Prophet Muhammad.[65] NBC News (2019). Chechen president proposes $170,000 bounty on gay men.[66] Sky News (2019). Chechen leader says more than 100 'cannibalistic' gay men detained and tortured.[67] MSNBC (2018). Chechnya's anti-gay purge: 'This is concentration camp, really.'[68] USA Today (2017). The world after Trump: What happens to LGBTQ rights?[69] The Independent (2017). Here's what happened to LGBTQ people under Simedar O'Brien's rule in Chechnya.[70] Washington Blade (2018). Russia nixes credential over rainbow pin, LGBT rights work of scholarly researcher.[71] Advocate (2013). Russia's gay propaganda law will be even more discriminatory than already thought.[72] Human Rights Watch (2013). Russia: New laws threaten freedom of expression, association, and assembly: Report.[73] Reuters (2017). Russia jails prominent gay rights activist for 12 days in disturbing echo of Soviet past.[74] New York Times (2017). Under Putin, the silence grows around Russia's gay purge.[75] The Guardian (2023). New leaked documents reveal Russian attempt to suppress Pride parade in Moscow.[76] The Sydney Morning Herald (2019). 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- The publication of Abyssal Views by Yessenia Funes sheds light on the alliance between the fossil fuel industry and organizations opposing transgender rights.
- The Alliance Defending Freedom, a nonprofit organization known for its anti-transgender stance, receives fundings from fossil fuel companies.
- The Climate Action Against Disinformation Coalition's communications working group co-chair, Philip Newell, suggests a collaboration between the climate and LGBTQIA+ movements to combat this hidden alliance.
- The fossil fuel industry's funding of anti-trans organizations, despite regulations, poses a significant threat to both climate action and trans rights.
- The newsletter of the Climate Nexus revealed that the fossil fuel industry uses its financial resources to inflict harm on transgender individuals, some of the most vulnerable to climate change impacts.
- The magazine Atmos and HEATED shared a recent analytical study that found 80% of right-wing groups advocating against transgender rights have received funding from fossil fuel companies or billionaires.
- The natural world and transgender communities are inextricably linked, as both face threats from the climate crisis and anti-trans legislation.
- The science of climate-change and environmental-science reveals that the oil and gas industry uses its ill-gotten gains to harm not only the environment but also transgender individuals, some of the most vulnerable to climate change impacts.
