Press Releases

Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: Fact vs Fiction

Press Contact: Seth Nelson

To: Interested Parties
From: Evergreen Action Deputy Communications Director Seth Nelson
Date: Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Re: Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: Fact vs Fiction 

The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) has come under political attack over the past two months, as the Trump administration seeks every opportunity possible to rollback federal investments to lower energy costs and invest in domestic manufacturing and the clean energy economy - all in service of funding their planned tax cuts for billionaires and corporations. 

The Trump administration is currently targeting two of the GGRF’s programs in particular: the National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF) and the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA) – both of which operate like banks, specifically targeting investment in areas facing high energy costs or historic disinvestment. The programs coming out of the funding are designed to leverage billions in private investment to finance clean energy projects 

These two programs are administered through a partnership arrangement with Citibank, known as a Financial Agency Agreement (FAA), established by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. As a result of intimidation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Zeldin and the Trump administration, Citibank has frozen the grant awardees' accounts without due cause, without public clarification, and in violation of the terms and conditions of their contracts. This freeze is blocking awardees from being able to invest in projects that qualify for funding like community solar and residential energy efficiency improvements, pay staff and other critical operating costs, and pursue the economic development goals of the program as they are contractually obligated to do.

In fact, ahead of an imminent court ruling on Trump’s unjustified freeze of GGRF funds, the EPA announced that it would terminate $20 billion of GGRF awards from NCIF and CCIA again without citing any evidence of fraud, waste, or abuse — escalating its sham attack on the program and its awardees. This is simply the latest unprecedented, transparent move by Trump’s EPA to steal from programs that benefit hardworking Americans in order to subsidize tax cuts for billionaires. Make no mistake: This is a last-ditch attempt by a desperate EPA to circumvent the courts. 

The Trump administration’s illegal attempts to hamper or kill the GGRF program could have devastating consequences — both by eliminating direct investments in our communities and by creating a climate of uncertainty that scares away private investment in our community.

Administrator Zeldin has weaponized his position in the EPA to spread false accusations of fraud and abuse in the administration of the GGRF in order to continue his crusade to destroy vital clean energy programs that drive economic development, quality of life improvements, reduce pollution, and reduce costs for Americans. Because of these false attacks, community lenders, credit unions, cooperatives, community development financial institutions (CDFIs), and green banks in every region of the country have projects that are at risk of cancellation. This will lead to lost jobs, community investment, and planned infrastructure improvements. The truth is this program enables U.S. competitiveness, lowers energy bills,  and supports the revitalization and health of our communities —yet Administrator Zeldin and the Trump administration are illegally attacking it. 

Fact vs. Fiction

  • FACT: The GGRF was established in 2022 with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act by Congress. It is a $27 billion investment that was established to mobilize financing and private capital to deliver lower energy costs with clean energy and reduce pollution through tens of thousands of projects in communities across the country. This program continues to unlock a historic wave of public and private investment, delivering local economic development opportunities and revitalization that would not have materialized without this program – especially in rural, Tribal, low-income, and traditional energy communities. GGRF investments are already flowing to communities across the country, providing much-needed financial assistance for projects that will lower energy costs, create jobs and economic opportunity, and bolster community resilience. 

  • FACT: These funds will mobilize almost $7 of private capital for every $1 of federal funds, ensuring that each public dollar is best used to attract private sector investment into the growing clean energy economy. Already, GGRF investments in two multifamily affordable housing projects alone leveraged over $39 million in private capital to improve energy efficiency for 194 units in Oregon and New York.

  • FACT: Funding from the GGRF is already revitalizing communities, keeping to its mission and promise. In February, Power Forward Communities (NCIF awardee) announced a $539 million investment to expand and preserve affordable housing, lower energy bills, and create good-paying jobs through improvements to single-family and multifamily homes nationwide. In October of last year, Climate United (NCIF awardee) announced $31.8 million for a groundbreaking solar project at the University of Arkansas. The project will save over $120 million in energy costs over the next 25 years. Green Bank for Rural America (CCIA awardee) recently announced an unprecedented $240 million in funding requests from community lenders in the first months after opening applications. These investments will support infrastructure and transportation development in rural communities, small business growth, and the program plans to expedite funding requests received from community lenders who are serving areas in need that are rebuilding from the devastation of Hurricane Helene.

  • FICTION: The Trump administration falsely claims GGRF  is a slush fund for Biden’s friends and allies. In fact,EPA undertook a rigorous, 10-month, multi-stage review and selection process for each program in GGRF. Over 40 federal employees participated in the review and scoring process for each selected application under the program. These federal employees served on expert review panels, participated in interviews with top-ranked applicants, and provided thorough recommendations on selection and partial funding recommendations. 

  • FICTION: The Trump administration falsely claims the Biden Administration put funds at Citibank as part of a scheme to quickly park $20 billion of “gold bars” outside the agency’s oversight. In fact, the EPA obligated the funding for the GGRF in August of 2024—prior to election results—and the EPA maintains rigorous oversight abilities of the program’s performance. The EPA requires awardees under the GGRF’s NCIF and CCIA to access their funding through an account established at Citibank, using a partnership model known as a Financial Agency Agreement (FAA). These agreements are time-tested funding mechanisms, first authorized in the 1800s, that have been used by Republican and Democratic administrations for decades to effectively administer and manage trillions of federal dollars. The Trump administration even used FAAs in 2020 to manage the distribution of small business loans as well as financial assistance to the airline industry. They are designed to disburse federal funds in a way that maintains full federal oversight and preserves durable guardrails around the funding, all while enabling the awardees to effectively leverage contractually obligated funds in private financial markets. Leadership across federal agencies, including at the Treasury Department, oversaw the selection of Citibank because of its proven commitment to fiscal due diligence and its ability to be a responsible steward of federal funds. Without this arrangement, grantees would be unable to catalyze private sector co-investment, undermining one of the core goals of the program and limiting the program’s reach and impact.

  • FICTION: The Trump administration has, without evidence, accused awardees of the GGRF of committing fraud, waste, and abuse. In fact, no plausible reports of fraud, waste, or abuse have been brought forward to the awardees of GGRF. EPA designed the GGRF – and structured the agreement with Citibank – to maintain extensive oversight and prevent misuse of taxpayer dollars. If the agency found evidence of abuse, it could directly and immediately address such concerns on a case-by-case basis. The allegations made so far have been baseless, and harm this Congressionally mandated program's ability to meet its mission: lowering costs for households, addressing pollution and revitalizing low-income and disadvantaged communities. 

Here’s the reality: The accusations against GGRF are part of a common Trump administration tactic to use baseless allegations to redirect funds away from clean energy programs that lower energy costs for everyday Americans to instead pay for their planned tax breaks for corporations and billionaires. This program has planned investments in all 50 states, but instead of implementing those plans the Trump administration is prioritizing actions that would  increase household energy costs and pollution levels to enable tax breaks for the wealthy. Three awardees have already suedCitibankfor its unlawful freezing of funds, continuing to ring the alarm bells that holding back these funds will harm Americans' pocket books.