Mission Statement
In the absence of federal leadership on climate issues, L4GG’s Climate Change and Environmental Justice Program tackles the causes and effects of climate change by providing legal resources and services to states, local governments, NGOs, and frontline communities to expedite the country’s just transition to a green economy and to directly address environmental racism.
To meet its mission, L4GG is in pursuit of three goals:
- Expedite the shift to clean energy at the state and local level.
- Help disadvantaged communities obtain federal funding for climate resilience, clean energy, and climate justice projects.
- Directly assist marginalized communities to secure access to clean, affordable drinking water.
L4GG has established several key initiatives to implement these goals:
Environmental & climate justice resources
FEDERAL FUND PROTECTION INITIATIVE
elective pay AND IRA INCENTIVES RESOURCES
Environmental and Climate Justice Resources
Green and Equitable Communities Clinic
Legal Guidance to Protect Climate Investments
Disadvantaged Communities Report
Tribal Treaty Rights
L4GG’s Climate Change Program In the News
Can the Courtroom Save the Climate?
Since the start of the year, environmental law groups—including Lawyers for Good Government, the Environmental Defense Fund, Earthjustice, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and others—have worked overtime to counter Trump’s rollbacks. These groups, largely philanthropically funded and traditionally focused on separate regions or issues, are now more coordinated than ever, says Kym Meyer, litigation director of the Southern Environmental Law Center.
Sep 29, 2025
Trump administration launches investigation into FEMA workers who warned disaster agency was at risk
Several signers have sought support from attorneys with the Government Accountability Project and Lawyers for Good Government, two whistleblower protection organizations.
“This is intimidation and patently violates the whistleblower laws,” Government Accountability Project Senior Counsel David Seide said of the investigation. “(These workers) filed a petition and were put on administrative leave immediately. That’s retaliation. Now they’re being investigated, and that’s retaliation too.”
Sep 29, 2025
Solar for None? What’s next after federal program axed.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin argued that July’s passage of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act means the agency lacks both the authority and the money “to keep this boondoggle alive.”
EPA is “basically trying to make it sound like you’ll never get your funding unless you agree to their terms, and that’s just not correct,” Jillian Blanchard, vice president of climate and environmental justice at Lawyers for Good Government, told Jean about EPA’s termination notices. “People are owed what they’re owed.”
Aug 15, 2025
Landry administration goes from praising to panning Solar for All program
Jillian Blanchard, an attorney with the advocacy group Lawyers for Good Government, said language in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is very clear — it does not touch obligated funds. The Trump administration knows it would probably lose in court, so they make these shocking announcements just to try to scare the grant recipients into folding, she said.
“This is legally completely unfounded what they’re doing,” Blanchard said. “It’s really, really important for states, no matter their political leanings, to protect the rule of law …This should not be a political analysis by the state. This should be pure economics.”
Aug 14, 2025
Trump EPA moves to cancel solar funding for low-income Arkansans
The Environmental Protection Agency announced it’s cancelling $93 million already allocated for solar energy projects for low-income Arkansas and Mississippi communities.
Attorneys with public interest law group Lawyers for Good Government is looking to work with Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund awardees to sue the Trump Administration over the move.
Aug 11, 2025
EPA Plans to End a Program that Makes Solar Power Available to Low-Income Americans
The Trump Administration says it will end a $7 billion program to help low-income households and communities get access to affordable solar energy. The move is part of President Trump’s effort to reverse former President Biden’s climate agenda and boost fossil fuels instead.
“We and many others are prepared to take them to court,” says Jillian Blanchard, vice president of climate change and environment justice at Lawyers for Good Government, which is working with grantees. Blanchard says the new law “rescinded only a much smaller portion of money — of unobligated funds.”
Aug 8, 2025
Environmental Justice Grants are still Frozen. Maine Grantees look to Federal Lawsuit for Relief.
The hour-long hearing focused on the plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction and the EPA’s motion to dismiss.
The plaintiffs argued the grant terminations are unlawful because Congress had already appropriated the funding, while the EPA argued that the “One Big Beautiful Bill” signed into law on July 4 codified the cuts, according to Katherine Christopher, supervising attorney for Climate Change and Environmental Justice Lawyers for Good Government, one of the groups representing the plaintiffs.
Aug 7, 2025
Trump looks to kill ‘Solar for All’ just as it starts to deliver
The $7B program builds low-cost solar projects to slash bills for nearly 1 million families and help bolster the grid. The Trump administration is trying to end it.
Rumors that the EPA plans to terminate Solar for All have been swirling for months, said Jillian Blanchard, vice president of climate change and environmental justice at Lawyers for Good Government, a nonprofit coalition of attorneys, law students, and activists that’s challenging other EPA funding cuts.
Aug 6, 2025
Environmental Groups, EPA Spar In Court Over Trump’s Cancellation of Resiliency Funding
A U.S. District Court judge in Washington hears arguments over the cancellation of funding for flood mitigation and other projects. Among them are those that would have benefited Southwest Virginia.
Ben Grillot, senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, alongside attorneys from Earthjustice, the Public Rights Project and Lawyers for Good Government, argued that Trump’s orders violated the Constitution’s separation of powers by having the executive branch void congressionally mandated spending.
Aug 6, 2025
Challenge To GOP Enviro Grant Cutoff Can Proceed, Judge Told
Attorneys for environmental infrastructure grant recipients told a D.C. federal judge Tuesday that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s own emails show that a proposed class action challenging the blanket termination of a climate justice and resilience grant program.
Aug 5, 2025
Volunteer Opportunities
Smart lawyers can make a big difference. L4GG is looking for support across its Clean Energy and Climate Justice initiatives. If you’d like to help, click the “Volunteer” button below and fill out our brief volunteer interest form!
It’s Up to Us – Donate to L4GG
L4GG’s climate change and environmental justice programs are funded by donations to our 501(c)3 nonprofit. Make a tax-deductible donation today to help fuel this work.
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