A federal appeals court agreed Wednesday to review a decision that would have allowed EPA to take back $17 billion in unspent award funds.
The rare move is good news for recipients of EPA’s largest climate grant program, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Eight nonprofits have been unable to access their grants since earlier this year, even before EPA announced it would cancel funding for the “green bank” program.
The full U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will review a three-judge panel’s September decision that EPA’s termination of the awards was valid. The court will hear oral arguments on Feb. 24.
The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund — created by the 2022 climate spending law — aims to expand finance for renewable energy, zero-carbon homes and electric transportation, with an emphasis on serving low-income communities. The program’s unspent funds remain frozen in accounts at Citibank as EPA tries to recover the remaining award balances.
