Hawaii Democrats Talk a Big Game on the 'Climate Crisis.' They're Also Shielding an Oil Company Whose Execs Backed Their Campaigns

Hawaii Democrats have for years been at the forefront of the climate change movement, pushing policies designed to slash carbon emissions and stave off cataclysmic global warming. Those same officials, however, are protecting a giant oil and gas company that is likely responsible for more emissions in the state than any other company—but whose executives have donated thousands to Democrats in the state.

"The climate crisis has already cost Hawaii lives, a price much higher and more devastating than even the most pessimistic predicted," states Hawaii's 2024 climate action plan, which outlines policies to help the state quickly reduce reliance on fossil fuels and boost green energy. "Hawaii now has a clearer understanding of the need for urgent action."

Similar rhetoric has been used by Democrats serving at all levels of Hawaii's government and representing the state in Congress. Sen. Brian Schatz (D., Hawaii)—a noted climate hawk and former chair of Senate Democrats' Special Committee on the Climate Crisis—for example, once called climate change "the most dangerous threat Earth has ever faced."

But four years ago, when Democratic prosecutors in Honolulu and Maui filed high-stakes litigation—which remains ongoing—blaming the nation's largest oil and gas companies for causing climate change, they mysteriously spared Houston-based Par Pacific. The company's subsidiary Par Hawaii operates Hawaii's sole petroleum refinery and is the state's leading supplier of transportation fuels, including gasoline and jet fuel.

Excluding Par Pacific, the lawsuits listed just about every major oil company operating in Hawaii and nationwide as defendants, from Sunoco, BP, and ExxonMobil to ConocoPhillips, Shell, and Chevron. The litigation has significant consequences for those defendants—they stand to lose billions of dollars if found guilty of causing global warming as prosecutors allege. But not Par.

Par's exclusion is especially noteworthy in light of the company's campaign contributions to state Democrats. Since around the time the complaints were filed, executives from Par Pacific and Par Hawaii, in addition to the company's political action committee, have funneled tens of thousands of dollars to Democrats who represent Hawaii at both the state and federal level, according to campaign finance filings reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.

When coupled with Par's political donations, Democrats' decision to spare the company, which is likely responsible for more in-state emissions than any other company, raises serious questions about the litigation. It also highlights that Democrats, who have talked a big game fighting the oil industry, were perfectly content with taking donations from a major petroleum company, even as they pursued the litigation.

Shortly before those donations began flowing, Par Hawaii executives attended a secretive climate litigation conference hosted by the University of Hawaii's School of Law at the Hawaii State Capitol in May 2019 alongside prominent Democrats, environmental activists, and officials from Honolulu and Maui. The event never received media coverage, but was later reported on by a school blog.

The conference featured remarks from Vic Sher, who cofounded the activist law firm Sher Edling with the sole intent of using the judicial system to go after oil companies on behalf of local governments nationwide. Both Honolulu and Maui hired Sher Edling as legal counsel in their litigation months later.

The City and County of Honolulu, County of Maui, Sher Edling, Par Pacific, and Par Hawaii did not respond to requests for comment.

"The politicization of energy has weakened and endangered America," Daniel Turner, the executive director of energy advocacy group Power the Future, told the Free Beacon. "For a century, energy was a nonpartisan industry celebrated by Democrats when they controlled states like Texas and Louisiana, but now it is highly weaponized and PAC checks are your best bet to assure permitting or protect from unscrupulous government prosecution."

"While partisans play these games targeting our energy industry, Americans can no longer afford to pay their bills. There are no winners in this new, toxic environment. We’re all losers," he added.

Overall, Schatz, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D.), Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke (D.), Honolulu mayor Rick Blangiardi (D.), former Honolulu City Council chairman Ikaika Anderson (D.), former Honolulu City Council member Donovan Dela Cruz (D.), and former Hawaii state House speaker Scott Saiki (D.) were among the largest beneficiaries of Par Pacific's and its executives' political donations. Those officials have authored or voted for climate legislation, while calling for more aggressive climate action.

Schatz was one of many Democratic lawmakers who participated in the 2019 climate litigation conference at the Hawaii State Capitol with Par Hawaii executives.

Three weeks after the conference, on May 24, 2019, the political action committee affiliated with Par Hawaii sent Schatz $1,000, federal filings show. Years earlier, Par Pacific CEO William Monteleone donated $5,200 to Schatz's campaign account.

"They are terrified of discovery," Schatz remarked in reference to the oil industry at the conference, adding that climate litigation would help force through left-wing green policies. "My own view is that what we’re doing is dislodging people enough from their positions where we can probably get a vote [on a carbon tax]. All of this is a result of electoral pressure, grassroots activism, and litigation."

Green and Luke, other recipients of Par Hawaii donations, both campaigned on tackling climate change and transitioning the Hawaiian economy away from fossil fuel dependence. Green even declared that he would "launch a clean energy revolution that will lead the nation and the world in addressing the climate crisis."

And earlier this year, Blangiardi said climate change is "increasingly impacting every facet of life," according to Hawaii Public Radio. Anderson, Dela Cruz, and Saiki have supported climate-related laws, state records show.

"The City and County of Honolulu actually took the initiative, if everybody recalls, in being one of the first counties in the state, if not the first, to actually file a lawsuit against the fossil fuel industry to help show our commitment to holding the fossil fuel industry accountable," Anderson remarked during an August 2022 environmental policy roundtable.

He added that, as city council chairman, he fought to fund the Honolulu Office of Climate Resiliency, which has helped spearhead the litigation, and called on other Hawaii jurisdictions to do the same.

Since late 2019, Par Pacific's executives and PAC have collectively wired state Democrats a total of nearly $34,000, state filings showed. By comparison, the company didn't make a single contribution to a Republican campaign in Hawaii during that same time frame.

Individual executives, including Par Pacific CEO William Monteleone, former Par Pacific CEO and current board member William Pate, Par Hawaii president Eric Wright, former Par Pacific executive vice president Jim Yates, and Par Hawaii director of government affairs Marc Inouye, contributed $21,250 of that total.

And Par Pacific's PAC contributed another $12,500 of that total. The only contributors to the company's PAC are its board members and executives, and it regularly funnels money to its Hawaii operation, according to federal records.

State law caps annual individual and PAC contributions at $6,000 per statewide candidate, $4,000 per state Senate candidate, and $2,000 per state House candidate.

Gov. Green, who previously served as lieutenant governor and in the state legislature, received roughly half of all the campaign contributions from Par Pacific and its executives. Green's campaign declined to comment but noted the state did not file the lawsuits. The state, though, filed an amicus brief in support of Honolulu.

Honolulu mayor Blangiardi received two contributions worth $1,000 from Par Pacific executives Wright and Yates within days of each other in late 2020.

Honolulu's and Maui's complaints—filed by Democratic prosecutors in March 2020 and October 2020, respectively, with the help of Sher Edling—accuse defendants of contributing to climate change and spreading misinformation about their products, and seek a judgment in which defendants would pay hefty damages.

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