by Hannah Hess
E&E News Reporter

A conservative free market group sued the State Department yesterday for records related to possible involvement by environmental advocacy groups in the department’s efforts to collaborate with China on climate during the Obama administration.

The Energy & Environment Legal Institute filed suit under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to compel the department to produce copies of specific records “to, from or discussing green-group lobbyist Jennifer Morgan of the World Resources Institute,” according to a statement. The Free Market Environmental Law Clinic is also party to the lawsuit.

The requests at issue followed up information obtained by E&E Legal — which has no connection to E&E News — about what the group alleges was a coordinated effort among China’s National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation, think tanks and advocates of the Paris Agreement to set up a long-term dialogue on climate.

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