Climate group that called for Gaza ceasefire risks losing federal funding

A coalition of grassroots environmental groups could lose $60 million in federal funding after calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Climate Justice Alliance (CJA) named More than a year ago, one of the EPA’s “funders” put it in charge of allocating grants for locally led environmental projects. But of the EPA’s 11 funders, CJA is the only one that has yet to receive any funding. The group suffered a series of attacks attack Speak out against Israel’s war with Hamas, and some Environmental Protection Department staff Said the group was singled out for that.

“We are deeply disappointed with the EPA’s current approach Withhold $60 million from Climate Justice Alliance (CJA)is the only one of eleven grant recipients who has the courage to speak out against environmental damage and human rights abuses in Palestine,” a group of anonymous EPA and DOE employees wrote in an article. open letter December.

The funds could disappear if they are not dispersed before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Trump has Said he would cancel Unspent funds from the Inflation Reduction Act to reserve funds for grants. If his second term is similar to his first, he will likely Clear EPA and Restore environmental protection.

With the deregulation agenda at the national level, Local efforts become more important Protect America’s air, water and climate. EPA’s funders should support grassroots initiatives like these, but the agency is at risk if it doesn’t disburse funds before it’s too late.

“This will further deprive our communities of the funding they have been relying on,” said KD Chavez, executive director of the CJA. “We need to provide resources for people so that at least at the local level they can do cleanup projects, do air quality monitoring,” Chavez said , and gave examples of how the funds could be used.

The EPA Environmental Justice Thrive Communities Grant Program is funded through the Inflation Reduction Act and includes: $369 billion Clean energy and climate action. Eleven funders, including universities and nonprofits, provide a total of $600 million in funding for locally led environmental programs.

It should have been possible Smaller grassroots groups have easier access to fundingespecially those living in the most polluted areas, Often communities of color in the United States. CJA includes approximately 100 organizations across the United States, many with roots in communities of color, such as the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program and the Indigenous Environmental Network.

Specifically, the CJA was selected to allocate grants to EPA Regions 8-10, which cover much of the western United States. It is also the national sponsor responsible for outreach to tribal communities. The CJA said it has spent $1.6 million from its own operating budget to establish the organizational infrastructure needed to allow community groups to apply for subsidies. It should receive $50 million in these sub-grants, plus an additional $10 million for technical capabilities.

As of January 3, the subsidy program had disbursed only $461 million, according to data. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency websiteleaving remaining funds vulnerable The incoming Trump administration.

“We have issues with being singled out as an organization. Why are we singled out as anti-American? Is it because we are led by working class, Black Indigenous and communities of color?” Chavez said.

Over the past year, conservative media outlets and some Republican lawmakers have accused the CJA of “radical,” anti-Semiticand”Anti-American” to express its stance on the war between Israel and Hamas. Even before EPA announced its selection of 11 funders, CJA Make a statement In October 2023, call on President Biden and Congress to demand a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

“I was surprised to learn that $50 million had been earmarked by the Climate Justice Alliance, which explicitly posted a ‘Free Palestine’ section on its website, which features dozens of anti-Semitic and shocking images,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) said on former EPA Administrator Michael Regan. Testify before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee Last July. (Regan Step down from his post December.)

The CJA has issued its ceasefire statement on its website. “We call on Biden and the U.S. Congress to publicly demand a ceasefire in the region and support an immediate end to violence. We stand firmly on the side of peace and support the Palestinian people’s rights to self-determination, decolonization and life.

“At its core, the CJA has always been anti-war and pro-community,” Chavez said. “We are just collateral damage in a war that violates regulations,” they added.

The organization has also been criticized for its environmental advocacy. one letter Last May, Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Buddy Carter went to Regan to accuse the CJA of supporting “partisanship, in some cases extreme environmental activism,” including “massive organizing of climate alarmist protests” and “litigation over fossil fuel projects.” The letter was equally scathing of other funders selected by the EPA, but as U.S. protests over the Gaza war intensified, the CJA faced more pressure.

this letter EPA and DOE staff published last month (first reported in go through intercept) urged agencies to “end their Cooperation with Israel until a permanent ceasefire” and “release all designated federal funds to the Climate Justice Coalition.” Funding is needed for Indigenous communities and other groups that have historically been “excluded” from environmental protections, the report said.

According to Chavez, the EPA told the CJA at a meeting in September that the agency’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) was investigating it but did not explain why. The agency’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights later told the group it expected funding by Jan. 6 — although funders were initially expected to be able to begin disbursing sub-grants, the group said Summer 2024.

EPA did not verify CJA’s claims or respond to specific questions from CJA. edge Regarding the investigation into the CJA. “EPA will continue to review grants to the Climate Justice Alliance,” EPA spokesman Nick Conger said in an email to the Climate Justice Alliance. edge. “EPA continues to go through a rigorous process to award funds under the Inflation Reduction Act, including the Thriving Communities Funders program.” Conger added that the agency “expects” to have disbursed more than 90% of the funds by the end of the Biden administration.

when edge Asked last year how the EPA selects funders Regarding the program, Regan said in a conference call with reporters that each of them “demonstrated a very strong governance structure that builds accountability” and that the agency selected the 11 individuals “knowing they will be able to address the concerns of the community.” The people who need these resources most will definitely get them. ”