Enemies of Energy: Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from Enemies of Energy, a research report created for the Capital Research Center. The page for the full report is here: Enemies of Energy.

***

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has reported taking in more than $100 million in annual revenue every year since their 2013 IRS filing (these numbers are not adjusted for inflation). A 501(c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit, the NRDC is one of only three American anti-energy NGOs to be so consistently flush. (The others are the World Wildlife Fund and the Environmental Defense Fund.) The NRDC reported $204.3 million total revenue for the year ending June 2024 and net assets of nearly half a billion bucks. Their biggest known revenue year so far was 2021, when the NRDC reported taking in $273.7 million and having more than a half billion in net assets. [i]

The NRDC is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit, and is also aligned with the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund (an advocacy nonprofit) and political committees such as NRDC Action Votes.

Without question the NRDC is one of America’s richest and most powerful anti-energy NGOs. What they’re really accomplishing is less obvious.

“What Are the Effects of Climate Change?” is the title of a tutorial page on the NRDC website. The supposed agenda is further explained by the sub-headline: “A rapidly warming planet poses an existential threat to all life on earth. Just how bad it gets depends on how quickly we act.” [emphasis added] [ii]

How bad is it getting? About halfway down the same page is a photo with this caption: “Coffee plants destroyed by frost due to extremely low temperatures near Caconde in the São Paulo state of Brazil, August 25, 2021.” [emphasis added] ^[iii]

***

***

Like the Environmental Defense Fund, the NRDC is located in New York City. And like EDF, the NRDC agitated for the closure of the Indian Point nuclear facility that powered 25 percent of Gotham’s homes and businesses with emissions-free electricity. An April 2021 NRDC “Expert Blog” claimed that “New York is better positioned today than ever to achieve its ambitious climate and clean energy goals without this risky plant.” The triumphant headline was “Indian Point is closing, but clean energy is here to stay.”[iv] [v]

This isn’t what happened. Sixteen days before the NRDC “expert” made that claim, a New York Times report carried this headline: “Indian Point Is Shutting Down. That Means More Fossil Fuel.” Demonstrating why weather dependent power could not replace Indian Point’s lost energy, the Times quoted from a February 2021 analysis by a pro-nuclear group that showed Indian Point was producing electricity equal to “2.5x the amount annually produced by all the solar panels and wind turbines in the state.” ^{[vi] [vii]}

Less than a year later an E&E News report confirmed that natural gas powerplants had been used to replace Indian Point’s electricity, with a corresponding 18.8 percent increase in the state of New York’s annual greenhouse emissions.^{[viii] [ix]}

In its hometown, the NRDC’s advocacy succeeded. But what it accomplished led to a lot more of the CO₂ emissions they claim to be fighting against, and fewer options for generating electricity. These perverse outcomes make sense if the real agenda is to oppose energy production rather than carbon emissions.

However, a potential break from this behavior occurred in March 2026 when Axios reported that the NRDC was tentatively supporting the reopening of the Duane Arnold nuclear power station in Iowa. This significance of this break from past policy was not lost on the NRDC president:[x]

“This is unprecedented for us because it marks the first time in our history that we have taken action in support of an individual nuclear power plant,” Manish Bapna, president and CEO of NRDC, told Axios in an exclusive interview. [emphasis original] ^[xi]

In its memo supporting the transfer of ownership over the Duane Arnold facility, the NRDC still reiterated many of the conventional exaggerations about the alleged dangers of nuclear power. The NGO also stipulated that it reserved the right to oppose the Duane Arnold nuclear project if these concerns were not addressed. [xii]

But the Duane Arnold development appears to be a hopeful sign, assuming the NRDC in fact continues to support the Duane Arnold project and also advances to supporting other nuclear power projects.

Further from home, the NRDC claims to have been the “first international nonprofit to launch a clean energy program in China” and to have been “supporting China’s sustainable development” since the mid-1990s.[xiii]

Since 1995, China has cranked up its coal burning by 231 percent, and by 2024 was burning as much coal as the entire world did back in 1995 when the NRDC first came to help China. For comparison, China was burning nearly 12 times as much coal as the United States in 2024 (and relative to 1995, American coal use had declined by more than half). Not coincidentally, by 2024 China accounted for 31.8 percent of the planet’s industrial CO₂ emissions—by far the world leader—and shows no sign of arresting its coal burning.[xiv] [xv]

Using their own standard of success (cutting CO₂ emissions) it’s not clear what the NRDC has accomplished in China other than public relations projects and encouraging China to wreck its landscapes. In another “Expert Blog” from November 2022, the NRDC boasted of “continued rapid growth in wind and solar” in China. Reinforcing the point, the NRDC web page for “Renewable Energy” features a photo of solar panels littering what appears to have once been a beautiful, tree covered mountain range. The caption reads: “Accelerating its shift to a new clean energy system will help China to ensure that it can peak its fossil fuel use and carbon emissions as early and as low as possible. Here, a mountaintop solar power plant in China’s Nanping City.” [xvi] [xvii]

While giving China a pass, the NRDC holds North American energy development to much stricter standards. And their hypocrisy on this front doesn’t end with their opposition to CO₂-free nuclear energy.

“Mercury’s Journey from Coal-Burning Power Plants to Your Plate,” is the headline of an NRDC post for February 2026 that attacked the Trump administration’s electricity policies. Imagine the NRDC telling the citizens of China that they should stand up against the repressive communist regime’s far more prolific coal burning. [xviii]

A “Take Action” page on the NRDC website calling for “No oil and gas drilling off U.S. coasts” makes the NGO’s anti-energy agenda abundantly clear: [xix]

The U.S. already has more than enough energy to meet demand: Tell the Trump administration that you stand with thousands of Americans across the country in opposition to more drilling off our coasts. [emphasis added] ^[xx]

But when the energy is pulled from giant, weather restricted offshore wind turbines, the NRDC changes its mind and decides we’re not exploiting the oceans for nearly enough energy. Yet another “Expert Blog” posted in February 2026 made this claim:[xxi]

For those keeping score, that makes it offshore wind: 5, Trump: 0, at least for now. […] This is great news for consumers and for electricity reliability. This struggle is playing out at a time when electricity demand is growing across the United States… [emphasis added] ^[xxii]

Just one week earlier, a different “Expert Blog” shrieked about the ocean ecosystems that could be damaged if the federal government permitted deep-sea mining and demanded a “precautionary approach” to “protect our ocean.” Their precautionary principle must not apply to anchoring those massive wind towers to the floor of that same ocean. And what if the deep-sea mining produces the minerals and metals needed to build wind turbines and solar panels? [xxiii]

On a single day in early February, each of the three aforementioned features appeared on the NGO’s homepage at the same time. The combined message: “The U.S. already has more than enough energy to meet demand … electricity demand is growing across the United States.”

NRDC’s supposed experts need more expertise in getting their stories straight.

Then there is the NRDC’s “Fossil Fuels” page. On the one hand, the page describes the anti-energy NGO opposition to natural gas flaring—burning the fuel when it comes up with oil production because infrastructure such as pipelines to transport it safely to market isn’t yet available. Why isn’t it available? On the same page they oppose the creation of new pipelines. ^[xxiv]

Of course, the page also includes a photo promoting the NRDC’s favorite environmental pollution: dozens of wind turbines blocking the view of a snow-capped mountain. The ironic caption reads: “Limiting dirty fossil fuel production and transitioning to clean energy, like wind and solar, are critical in building a livable future.”[xxv]

***

***

PDF hyperlink to full report

Endnotes

[i] Natural Resources Defense Council Inc (EIN: 13-2654926). ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed February 5, 2026. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/132654926

[ii] Lindwall, Courtney. “What Are the Effects of Climate Change?” Natural Resources Defense Fund. October 24, 2022. Accessed February 5, 2026. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/what-are-effects-climate-change

[iii] Lindwall, Courtney. “What Are the Effects of Climate Change?” Natural Resources Defense Fund. October 24, 2022. Accessed February 5, 2026. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/what-are-effects-climate-change

[iv] Kennedy, Kit. “Indian Point Is Closing, but Clean Energy Is Here to Stay.” Natural Resources Defense Council, April 28, 2021. Accessed February 5, 2026.  https://www.nrdc.org/bio/kit-kennedy/indian-point-closing-clean-energy-here-stay

[v] McGeehan, Patrick. “Indian Point Is Shutting Down. That Means More Fossil Fuel.” New York Times. April 12, 2021. Accessed February 5, 2026. https://web.archive.org/web/20210412090750/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/12/nyregion/indian-point-power-plant-closing.html

[vi] McGeehan, Patrick. “Indian Point Is Shutting Down. That Means More Fossil Fuel.” New York Times. April 12, 2021. Accessed February 5, 2026. https://web.archive.org/web/20210412090750/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/12/nyregion/indian-point-power-plant-closing.html

[vii] “Setting the Record Straight on Indian Point.” Climate Coalition. February 2021. Accessed February 5, 2026. https://climatecoalition.org/setting-the-record-straight-on-indian-point/

[viii] McGeehan, Patrick. “Indian Point Is Shutting Down. That Means More Fossil Fuel.” New York Times. April 12, 2021. Accessed February 5, 2026. https://web.archive.org/web/20210412090750/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/12/nyregion/indian-point-power-plant-closing.html

[ix] Storrow, Benjamin. “3 states with shuttered nuclear plants see emissions rise.” E&E News. February 17, 2022. Accessed February 4, 2026. https://www.eenews.net/articles/3-states-with-shuttered-nuclear-plants-see-emissions-rise/

[x] Harder, Amy. “Exclusive: How AI’s power demand shifts resistance to nuclear power.” Axios. March 16, 2026. Accessed March 17. 2026. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/exclusive-how-ai-s-power-demand-shifts-resistance-to-nuclear-power/ar-AA1YIRhE

[xi] Harder, Amy. “Exclusive: How AI’s power demand shifts resistance to nuclear power.” Axios. March 16, 2026. Accessed March 17. 2026. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/exclusive-how-ai-s-power-demand-shifts-resistance-to-nuclear-power/ar-AA1YIRhE

[xii] Braun, Ken. “NRDC adopts nuclear power sanity and exits list of nuclear energy enemies.” Capital Research Center. March 16, 2026. Accessed March 17, 2026. https://capitalresearch.org/article/nrdc-adopts-nuclear-power-sanity-and-exits-list-of-nuclear-energy-enemies/

[xiii] “China.” Natural Resources Defense Council. Accessed February 5, 2026. https://www.nrdc.org/china

[xiv] “Energy consumption by source: China, United States, World.” Our World in Data. Accessed February 5, 2026. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/energy-consumption-by-source-and-country?stackMode=absolute&time=1995..latest&country=CHN~USA~OWID_WRL

[xv] “Share of global CO₂ emissions: China.” Our World in Data. Accessed February 5, 2026. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-share-of-co2-emissions?country=~CHN

[xvi] “Renewable Energy.” Environmental Defense Fund. Accessed February 5, 2026. https://www.nrdc.org/issues/renewable-energy

[xvii] Lin, Alvin. “China’s Climate Progress Ahead of COP27.” Environmental Defense Fund. November 1, 2022. Accessed February 5, 2026. https://www.nrdc.org/bio/alvin-lin/chinas-climate-progress-ahead-cop27

[xviii] Cosier, Susan. “Mercury’s Journey from Coal-Burning Power Plants to Your Plate.” Natural Resources Defense Council. February 2, 2026. Accessed February 5, 2026. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/mercurys-journey-coal-burning-power-plants-your-plate

[xix] “No oil and gas drilling off U.S. coasts.” Natural Resources Defense Council. Accessed February 5, 2026. https://action.nrdc.org/letter/4573-ocs-5-year-plan-112125

[xx] “No oil and gas drilling off U.S. coasts.” Natural Resources Defense Council. Accessed February 5, 2026. https://action.nrdc.org/letter/4573-ocs-5-year-plan-112125

[xxi] Feinberg, Pasha; and Nathanael Greene. “Courts Blow Back the Trump Administration’s Offshore Wind Freeze.” Natural Resources Defense Council. February 2, 2026. Accessed February 5, 2026. https://www.nrdc.org/bio/pasha-feinberg/courts-blow-back-trump-administrations-offshore-wind-freeze

[xxii] Feinberg, Pasha; and Nathanael Greene. “Courts Blow Back the Trump Administration’s Offshore Wind Freeze.” Natural Resources Defense Council. February 2, 2026. Accessed February 5, 2026. https://www.nrdc.org/bio/pasha-feinberg/courts-blow-back-trump-administrations-offshore-wind-freeze

[xxiii] Loomis, Rebecca. “The Trump Administration Is Racing to Launch the Deep-Sea Mining Industry, Despite Huge Risks and Broad Opposition.” Natural Resources Defense Council. January 26, 2026. Accessed February 5, 2026. https://www.nrdc.org/bio/rebecca-loomis/trump-administration-racing-launch-deep-sea-mining-industry-despite-huge-risks

[xxiv] “Fossil Fuels.” Natural Resources Defense Council. Accessed February 5, 2026. https://www.nrdc.org/issues/fossil-fuels

[xxv] “Fossil Fuels.” Natural Resources Defense Council. Accessed February 5, 2026. https://www.nrdc.org/issues/fossil-fuels

Source: https://capitalresearch.org/article/enemies-of-energy-natural-resources-defense-council-nrdc/