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Niskanen Center - InfluenceWatch
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This is an InfluenceWatch profile of the Niskanen Center, a libertarian-leaning think tank focused on environmental and policy issues. It has minimal direct relevance to AI safety, though think tanks like Niskanen occasionally engage with technology governance topics.
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Summary
This InfluenceWatch entry profiles the Niskanen Center, a Washington DC-based 501(c)(3) think tank founded in 2015 with a nominally libertarian but center-left environmental orientation. The profile covers the Center's carbon tax advocacy, involvement in climate litigation against ExxonMobil and Suncor, and various controversies. It provides organizational and financial details about the Center.
Key Points
- •Niskanen Center is a 501(c)(3) think tank founded in January 2015, named after Reagan economic adviser William Niskanen.
- •The Center is a major proponent of carbon taxes and assisted in drafting a 2018 carbon tax bill introduced by Rep. Carlos Curbelo.
- •The Center participated in a 2018 lawsuit against ExxonMobil and Suncor on behalf of Colorado communities claiming over $100M in climate damages.
- •Critics noted the Center's climate litigation stance contradicted the views of William Niskanen himself, who was skeptical of climate alarmism.
- •The Center has a 501(c)(4) lobbying arm called the Niskanen Center for Public Policy.
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Niskanen Center - InfluenceWatch
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Non-profit
Niskanen Center
Website:
niskanencenter.org
Location:
WASHINGTON, DC
Tax ID:
45-5308952
Tax-Exempt Status:
501(c)(3)
Budget (2019):
Revenue: $6,548,833
Expenses: $4,421,324
Assets: $3,106,098
Formation:
January 2015
Type:
Environmentalist Think Tank
Interim President:
Joe Coon
Latest Tax Filing:
2019 Form 990
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The Niskanen Center is a nominally libertarian 501(c)(3) environmental think tank with ties to center-left environmental groups. The Center was created in January 2015 and was initially headed by Jerry Taylor , a global warming advocate and environmental activist who authored a 2015 report The Conservative Case for a Carbon Tax . 1 Taylor later resigned in 2021, amid a domestic abuse scandal. 2 The Center is named for William Niskanen, a senior economic aide to President Ronald Reagan who died in 2011. 3
The Niskanen Center for Public Policy is the 501(c)(4) lobbying arm of the Niskanen Center.
Carbon Tax Advocacy
The Niskanen Center is a major proponent of a tax on carbon dioxide emissions. The group is credited with assisting then-Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) with introducing a carbon tax bill in 2018; the bill was rejected by the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, which later introduced a successful resolution “expressing the sense of Congress that a carbon tax would be detrimental to the United States economy.” 4 5
Controversies
ExxonMobil/Suncor Lawsuit (2018)
In April 2018, the City of Boulder, Colorado and County of San Miguel, Colorado filed a lawsuit against oil and natural gas companies ExxonMobil and Suncor, accusing them of being “fossil fuel-producing corporations” which negatively impact the climate. 6 The Colorado communities were represented in the lawsuit by a joint climate group which included Hannon Law Firm, a group that litigates environmental lawsuits and whose founder Kevin Hannon served as chief outside legal counsel, the environmentalist nonprofit EarthRights International, and the Niskanen Center. 7 7 The joint climate group claimed that ExxonMobil and Suncor were culpable for over $100 million in climate damages—including wildfires, flooding, road maintenance, landscaping, and individuals work efficiency. 8
According to two environmental
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