The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) was an initiative of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Biden administration for the purpose of directing funding towards weather-dependent energy projects while transitioning away from traditional energy projects. The GGRF was started in 2023 under then-President Joe Biden through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, with an estimated $27 billion being promised for the program. ^{1 2 3}

As of 2025, roughly $20 billion of the promised $27 billion was blocked by the second Trump administration’s EPA. ⁴

Background

The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) was an initiative of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Biden administration to increase funding for weather-dependent energy projects while transitioning away from traditional energy projects. The GGRF claimed to be a “a first-of-its-kind, national-scale” program to “address the climate crisis,” begun through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 with an estimated $27 billion being promised for the program. ^{2 3}

The Biden administration claimed the GGRF would “improve health outcomes and deliver lower energy costs” while reducing “greenhouse gas emissions” between 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030 and reaching “net-zero emissions” by 2050.  ²

Following the GGRF’s creation, the Biden administration announced three grantmaking competitions: Solar for All (SFA), the National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF), and Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA). SFA applicants would design solar energy-based programs for “low-income” and “disadvantaged communities,” NCIF applicants would create finance programs for non-traditional energy projects, and CCIA applicants would create initiatives for funding non-traditional energy projects for “disadvantaged communities.” ^{1 5 6 7 8}

Grantmaking

As of 2025, nearly $14 billion was allocated to National Clean Investment Fund, roughly $6 billion to Clean Communities Investment Accelerator, and roughly $7 billion to Solar for All. ^{9 10 11}

There were three recipients of the NCIF: the Climate United Fund (promised $6,970,000,000), Coalition for Green Capital (promised $5,000,000,000), and Power Forward Communities (promised $2,000,000,000). ⁷

There were five recipients of the CCIA: Opportunity Finance Network ($2,290,000,000), Inclusiv ($1,870,000,000), Justice Climate Fund ($940,000,000), Appalachian Community Capital ($500,000,000), and Native CDFI Network ($400,000,000). ⁸

There were 60 recipients of the SFA program, many of them being state and local governments and Native American tribes but also several nonprofit organizations such as GRID Alternatives ($312,250,000), Clean Energy Fund of Texas ($156,120,000), Growth Opportunity Partners ($156,120,000), Groundswell ($156,120,000), Inclusive Prosperity Capital ($249,300,000), Nevada Clean Energy Fund ($156,120,000), Coalition for Green Capital ($124,900,000), Bonneville Environmental Foundation ($130,500,000), Center for Rural Affairs ($62,450,000), Hope Enterprise Corporation ($156,120,000), Indiana Community Action Association ($117,470,000), the Capital Good Fund ($156,010,000), and the Solar and Energy Loan Fund of St. Lucie County (SELF) ($156,120,000). ⁶

In 2025, roughly $20 billion of the promised $27 billion was blocked by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the second Trump administration. ^{12 4}

1. “Background and History.” Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Accessed June 27, 2025. https://www.epa.gov/greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund/background-and-history.
2. “Overview of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.” Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Summer 2023. Accessed June 27, 2025. https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-08/Wright_Greenhouse-Gas-Reduction-Fund-Competition-Overview-508_v2.pdf?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email.
3. “Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.” Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed June 27, 2025. https://www.epa.gov/greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund.
4. Tajo, Mikaela; Jacobson, Rachel. “Continued Freeze of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Threatens Climate Investments in Vulnerable Communities Across the Country.” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), May 9, 2025. Accessed June 27, 2025. https://www.cbpp.org/blog/continued-freeze-of-greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund-threatens-climate-investments-in-vulnerable.
5. “Review and Selection Process.” Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Accessed June 27, 2025. https://www.epa.gov/greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund/review-and-selection-process.
6. “Solar for All.” Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed June 27, 2025. https://www.epa.gov/greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund/solar-all.
7. “National Clean Investment Fund.” Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed June 27, 2025. https://www.epa.gov/greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund/national-clean-investment-fund.
8. “Clean Communities Investment Accelerator.” Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed June 27, 2025. https://www.epa.gov/greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund/clean-communities-investment-accelerator
9. “View Grant Opportunity – National Clean Investment Fund.” grants.gov, July 14, 2023. Accessed June 27, 2025. https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/349234.
10. “View Grant Opportunity – Clean Communities Investment Accelerator.” grants.gov, July 14, 2023. Accessed June 27, 2025. https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/349233.
11. “View Grant Opportunity – Solar for All.” grants.gov, August 31, 2023. Accessed June 27, 2025. https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/348957.
12. ^[1] Guarna, Olivia. “EPA’s Attacks on Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and the Fate of IRA’s “Green Banks.”” Columbia University – Climate Law, a Sabin Center Blog, April 2, 2025. Accessed June 27, 2025. https://blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechange/2025/04/02/epas-attacks-on-greenhouse-gas-reduction-fund-and-the-fate-of-iras-green-banks/.