Today, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) sent a letter to World Resources Institute (WRI) President Andrew Steer, renewing their request for information regarding the WRI’s relationship with the Chinese government. This letter follows up on the Committee’s Sept. 5 letter as part of an ongoing investigation.

“In a September 22, 2018 letter to the Committee, WRI denied that its relationship with the Chinese government impacts its political activities within the United States … WRI also asserted that it ‘does not act on behalf of…any foreign governments or principals…

“Communications from WRI to senior U.S. government officials, obtained by the Committee, however, indicate WRI actions on behalf of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China (MEE)…

“One email of concern dated April 15, 2015, was sent by the then-Global Director of WRI’s Climate Program to U.S. State Department officials, [which stated,] ‘We have been approached by the NCSC in China to pursue a dialogue (potentially track 2) that would bring together top experts from the US and China’…

“It is difficult to reconcile WRI’s representations to the Committee that it ‘unambiguously has not and does not act on behalf of or in the interests of any foreign principal,’ with the April 15, 2015 email and other documents. Similarly, WRI’s refusal to provide documents and information responsive to the Committee’s inquiries raise additional concerns regarding WRI’s candor’…

“The Committee remains concerned that WRI’s relationship with the Chinese government has influenced its political activities related to natural resources and environmental policies in the United States.”

Click here to read the full letter.

Click here to view the emails.