Trump administration will try to revoke $20 billion in funding for climate projects
The Trump administration is trying to take $20 billion (€18.3 billion) away from climate and clean energy projects.
Former US president Biden had awarded the money to projects that would cut greenhouse gas emissions, such as heat pumps, for homes and larger-scale projects like electric vehicle charging stations and community cooling centres.
Now, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin has said he will get back Americans' "hard earned tax dollars" from the environmental NGOs and other "entities" that the money was given to.
In a video posted on X, Zeldin said: “The days of irresponsibly shoveling boatloads of cash to far-left activist groups in the name of environmental justice and climate equity are over”.
What are the non-profits the money has been given to?
The funding was given out under the green bank. Formally known as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, the bank is part of Biden's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
The IRA is regarded as crucial to cutting the US' greenhouse gas emissions - essential to solving the climate crisis as the country is the world's biggest emitter.
Two initiatives, worth $14 billion (€13.4 billion) and $6 billion (€5.7 billion) respectively, are intended to offer competitive grants to nonprofits, community development banks and other groups for projects with a focus on disadvantaged communities.
The money has already been awarded to eight nonprofits, including the Coalition for Green Capital, Climate United Fund, Power Forward Communities, Opportunity Finance Network, Inclusiv and the Justice Climate Fund. Those organisations have partnered with a range of groups, including Rewiring America, Habitat for Humanity and the Community Preservation Corporation.
Republicans have called the green bank a 'slush fund'
Republicans in Congress have called the green bank a “slush fund” and voiced concerns over how the money will be used and whether there will be sufficient accountability and transparency.
The Republican-controlled House approved a bill last year to repeal the green bank and other parts of Biden’s climate agenda. The bill was blocked in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Zeldin said there will be “zero tolerance of any waste and abuse” at the EPA under his administration. He cited “an extremely disturbing video” on X that features a former EPA staffer stating that the Biden administration was “tossing gold bars off the Titanic” in order to spend billions of taxpayer dollars before President Donald Trump took office.
Zeldin said. “I’ve directed my team to find your gold bars, and they found them. Now we will get them back inside of control of government as we pursue next steps."
The video Zeldin cited was posted by Project Veritas, a right-wing organisation that often uses hidden cameras to try to embarrass news outlets, labor organisations and Democratic officials. In this case, the Veritas video showed Brent Efron, a former EPA special adviser for implementation, speaking at a bar or restaurant with someone who turned out to be with the group. Efron has since left the EPA.
What has been the reaction to Zeldin's announcement?
Clean energy advocates denounced Zeldin's action as a political stunt and said he was illegally attempting to revoke spending approved by Congress for partisan reasons. They pledged to challenge the directive in court.
“This is not just an attack on clean energy investments - it’s a blatant violation of the Constitution," said Lena Moffitt, executive director of Evergreen Action, an environmental group that supports the green bank. “The Trump team is once again trying to illegally slash programs meant to help American families to fund tax cuts for billionaires.”