Environmental Protection and Climate Resilience
Last Updated: April 7, 2025
Nearly $5 billion in IRA environmental justice and climate grants withdrawn or frozen.
Climate Pollution Reduction Grants and urban tree programs terminated.
DOE community solar and tribal energy programs eliminated.
EPA Environmental Justice Collaborative grants cut.
Grants being cut or changed
Environmental and climate-related grants have been some of the most heavily affected by 2025 policy shifts. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has paused or canceled many of its environmental justice (EJ) and climate resilience programs. Nearly $5 billion in Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) grants for clean water, lead pipe removal, air monitoring, and urban tree planting have been withdrawn or put on indefinite hold. Programs supporting local climate planning and hazard mitigation are being deprioritized, especially those with equity or community participation components.
Eliminations or restructuring
The EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights is being downsized significantly. Competitive grant programs like the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement and the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants are being terminated. The Department of Energy’s programs supporting community solar and tribal energy projects have also been swept into broader cuts to clean energy funding.
On hold or court challenges
Environmental organizations and state attorneys general have filed multiple lawsuits to halt the cuts. In April 2025, a federal court agreed to hear a challenge arguing that rescinding already-awarded environmental justice grants violates administrative law. Some states are seeking injunctions to preserve funding for lead pipe replacement and Superfund cleanup plans that were already underway.
Timeline
EPA and DOE began pausing new grant activity in February 2025. Grant awards already made in 2023–2024 have faced clawbacks or delays in disbursement. If courts do not intervene, full program eliminations and budget reductions are expected to take effect in FY2026.
State-level impact
Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania had significant projects planned to replace lead pipes, reduce flooding, and increase tree canopies in underserved neighborhoods. West Virginia and Tennessee were using EPA grants to address water quality issues tied to mining and agriculture. North Carolina and South Carolina had community-based climate resilience hubs in development that are now stalled. Nonprofits working on environmental health in low-income areas may lose core operating support.
Sources
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2025, March 4). Climate and environmental justice grants update. https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/update-ira-grants-and-ej-programs-2025
NPR. (2025, March 18). Federal cuts imperil environmental justice grants. https://www.npr.org/2025/03/18/environmental-justice-grants-cut
Associated Press. (2025, March 25). States sue over loss of climate and clean water funds. https://apnews.com/article/epa-climate-grants-lawsuit-2025
Department of Energy. (2025, March 10). IRA clean energy community programs paused. https://www.energy.gov/news/articles/community-programs-pause-2025
