US court deals blow to Trump’s bid to scrap climate grant programme

What the report says

A US federal appeals court has sided, for now, with groups challenging the Trump administration’s effort to cancel a major Biden-era clean energy grant programme. Al Jazeera reports that the full US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia found the Environmental Protection Agency likely acted unlawfully when it tried to freeze about $20bn in grants tied to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

The fund was created by Congress in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and was designed to channel money through nonprofit organisations for clean energy projects, energy-efficient buildings and related infrastructure. The EPA, led by Administrator Lee Zeldin, has argued the programme does not fit the agency’s priorities and has accused recipients of waste and mismanagement. The recipient groups, including Climate United Fund and Coalition for Green Capital, denied wrongdoing and sued to keep the money moving.

The appeals court’s ruling reverses an earlier panel decision and restores a lower-court order that had blocked the cancellation. However, the money will not be released immediately because the decision is paused while the EPA has time to seek Supreme Court review.

The case is significant because it is part of a wider legal fight over Trump’s attempts to unwind Biden-era climate policy. More broadly, it highlights a recurring dispute over how much discretion executive agencies have to redirect funds that Congress has already approved.