Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Environmental groups are lobbying against the Manchin-Barrasso permitting bill behind closed doors.
Why it matters: Some green groups publicly oppose it, but the third-quarter lobbying filings show they could be an important factor in whether or not Democrats support the bill in lame duck.
Driving the news: The League of Conservation Voters and Sierra Club — two of the most influential environmental groups with Democrats — both reported lobbying against Manchin-Barrasso.
- LCV said its lobbyists told lawmakers to oppose the bill, as well as "other efforts that undermine NEPA, environmental justice, and serve as giveaways to the fossil fuel industry."
A few other notes from NGO world in the third-quarter lobbying paperwork:
- LCV is paying a bipartisan group of outside lobbyists — including a former chief of staff to GOP Rep. Ken Calvert — to work on Alaska conservation issues.
- The group is also actively lobbying the Treasury Department against the inclusion of biomass in the IRA's tech-neutral energy tax credits.
- The Sierra Club is heavily involved in industrial decarbonization legislation, including supporting the PROVE IT Act and "watching" Sen. Bill Cassidy's Foreign Pollution Fee Act.
- And they reported discussing with lawmakers an unintroduced "AI energy consumption data collection bill."
By the numbers: Here's a look at the topline spending from some of the biggest energy and environmental NGOs on all energy- and climate-related issues ...
- League of Conservation Voters: $220,000 in Q3, compared with $180,000 in Q2.
- Environmental Defense Action Fund: $240,000 in Q3, compared with $310,000 in Q2.
- The Nature Conservancy: $430,000 in Q3, compared with $830,000 in Q2.
- ClearPath Action: $485,710 in Q3, compared with $496,450 in Q2.
- Citizens For Responsible Energy Solutions: $240,000 in Q3, compared with $250,000 in Q2.
Editor's note: This story was updated to clarify that the topline NGO spending totals apply to all issues and not just the Manchin-Barrasso bill.
