Epa Froze 'green Bank' Funds Worth Billions, Climate Group Suit Says

A nonprofit that was awarded nearly 7 billion by the Biden administration to finance clean energy and climate-friendly projects has sued President Donald Trump's Environmental Protection Agency, accusing it of improperly freezing a legally awarded grant.

Climate United Fund, a coalition of three nonprofit groups, demanded access to a Citibank account it received through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a program created in 2022 by the bipartisan Inflation Reduction Act and more commonly known as the green bank. The freeze threatens its ability to issue loans and even pay employees, he group said.

"The combined actions of Citibank and EPA effectively nullify a congressionally mandated and funded program," Climate United wrote in a Monday court filing.

Last April, then-Vice President Kamala Harris announced that EPA had selected eight groups, including Maryland-based Climate United, to receive 20 billion to finance tens of thousands of projects to fight climate change and promote environmental justice. The money was formally awarded in August.

While favored by congressional Democrats, the green bank drew immediate criticism from Republicans, who routinely denounced it as an unaccountable 'slush fund.'' Former EPA Administrator Michael Regan sharply disputed that claim .