NEW YORK– Inclusiv has been granted an emergency appeal hearing in its lawsuit over funding from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
As the CU Daily reported earlier, Inclusiv is the recipient of a $1.87 billion CCIA (Clean Communities Investment Accelerator) Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) federal award, that Inclusiv claims the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has attempted to unlawfully terminate. Inclusiv plans to distribute those funds via credit unions.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted the GGRF awardees’ request for en banc rehearing, which means the full court will hear arguments on whether the plaintiffs were entitled to the earlier ordered Preliminary Injunction.
The order can be found here. Oral arguments have been set for Feb. 24, 2026.
“While this continues, the grant funds remain frozen at Citibank,” Inclusiv stated.
Timeline of Litigation
Inclusiv offered this timeline of events leading to the most recent ruling:
Here is a brief reminder of the progression of our ongoing litigation:
- On March 11, 2025, the EPA made an “unlawful attempt” to terminate Inclusiv’s award, along with awards to seven other organizations, under the GGRF’s CCIA and NCIF (National Clean Investment Fund) programs.
- On March 31, Inclusiv filed affirmative litigation in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against the EPA and Citibank, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief from EPA’s baseless attempt to terminate a program created and funded by Congress.
- On April 15, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan of the District of Columbia Federal Court issued a Preliminary Injunction order on behalf of the GGRF plaintiffs, rejecting the EPA’s attempts to terminate the program.
- The EPA appealed the preliminary injunction order to the D.C. Circuit Appeals Court.
- On Sept. 2, a divided panel for the D.C. Circuit Appeals Court ruled 2-1 that the District Court lacks jurisdiction over this case, and therefore the claims must be heard in the Court of Federal Claims, and vacated the Preliminary Injunction.
- On Sept. 11, the plaintiffs filed an emergency appeal seeking an en banc review to overturn that 2-1 decision.
