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Since Donald Trump and his unelected billionaire advisor, Elon Musk, came to power in January, the pair have followed the old Silicon Valley tech motto to 鈥渕ove fast and break things.鈥� That鈥檚 bad news for the climate. Since his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, Trump has issued hundreds of executive orders , , and .听

The good news is that climate justice movement organizers nationwide were prepared for the threats of Trump鈥檚 second term and are fighting against his administration鈥檚 regressive political agenda and for a greener future.

鈥淲e are already seeing our communities on the front lines being responsive [to Trump鈥檚 attacks],鈥� says KD Chavez, executive director of (CJA). 鈥淭hey are continuing to provide mutual support, they鈥檙e continuing to organize, they鈥檙e resisting, and they鈥檙e creating regenerative climate solutions that are replicable.鈥�

鈥淲hen we say front line, we mean the people that are dealing with climate injustice day to day,鈥� explains Chavez. 鈥淚t鈥檚 folks in communities that have been intentionally marginalized and disinvested from for decades, and they鈥檝e been having to come up with inventive solutions with, sometimes, shoestring budgets.鈥澛�

Chavez points to the (GASP) as one example of a front-line community tackling environmental injustice. That nonprofit organization has succeeded in in predominantly Black neighborhoods in Birmingham, Alabama, and is now working with the City of Birmingham to create a with climate justice principles at its core.听

鈥淲hen we aggregate those solutions, a just transition and a future that includes ecological liberation and liberation for the people and land doesn鈥檛 seem too far away because we have tangible examples of it happening all over.鈥�

More than work under CJA鈥檚 umbrella, each furthering climate justice aims in their communities. Trump鈥檚 rapid-fire rollbacks have already impacted the work of many of CJA鈥檚 members and other groups like them. 

Some of the most significant disruptions to climate progress nationwide come from the administration鈥檚 , enacted on Jan. 27, 2025, and attacks on the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which includes provisions to help fight climate change, promote environmental justice, and transition the United States to . Among Trump鈥檚 many Inauguration Day executive orders is one aimed at , including terminating the office established to oversee the IRA鈥檚 implementation and halting disbursements of allocated funds. The same executive order also demanded a pause on all 鈥淕reen New Deal鈥� funding.听

Of $50 billion in grants awarded under the IRA, $32 billion had not yet been disbursed when President Joe Biden left office in early 2025 and is at risk of being clawed back, according to . The EPA is meant to be responsible for disbursing about $20 billion of the unspent funds. On Feb. 12, 2025, the EPA鈥檚 new administrator, that the agency would rescind those contracts and the funds.

Even before that announcement, the agency informed some grant recipients their until further notice. The federal funding freeze also disrupted at least to thousands of state and local governments and nonprofit organizations, according to Inside Climate News. 

The effects of these funding disruptions are already being felt. Tens of thousands of nationwide are now threatened or canceled, many of which were meant to benefit underserved communities and those on the front lines of the climate crisis. CJA was among the groups that lost some EPA funding following Zeldin鈥檚 announcement.

That funding was part of the EPA鈥檚 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities grantmaking program, which would have allowed CJA to seed community-based organizations advancing environmental justice in the western U.S. Chavez called the program鈥檚 cancellation one of the White House鈥檚 鈥渁ttacks on working class communities鈥� in a Feb. 13 .

Funding disruptions have also hit individuals and families as federally funded programs that help families save money on energy costs鈥攕uch as and 鈥攁re now in limbo.听

Meech Carter, clean energy campaigns director at the , helps state residents access funding through programs like these. She says her organization has received little guidance on which programs will continue when the federal funding freeze is lifted. 鈥淲hen I talk to residents now, I have to tell them, 鈥楾his is a very changing landscape, we appreciate your patience, and we are trying our best to get you the assistance that you need.鈥欌��

She adds, 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want people to have unreasonable expectations, and we know there鈥檚 a possibility that these programs will be impacted.鈥�

A group of nonprofit organizations and Democratic attorneys general in 22 states and Washington, D.C. have already challenged the Trump administration鈥檚 federal funding freeze in court. Two federal courts in early February 2025 to stop the freeze. On Feb. 25, 2025, a federal judge in one of these cases agreed to grant the plaintiffs鈥� request for while the case moves through the court. However, grantees have continued to report they awarded for climate projects. 

Meanwhile, environmental law organizations are gearing up to . It鈥檚 too soon to know how those legal fights will play out and whether the Trump administration will heed court decisions. But the litigation itself serves an important purpose. 鈥淭he way that we鈥檙e thinking about it right now is 鈥楬ow do you grind down and bog down the administration?鈥欌�� says Erik Schlenker-Goodrich, executive director of the . 鈥淭hey are pretending that there are no laws binding them, but in fact, these laws exist, and we will check them on that through federal court litigation.鈥�

While litigation on the federal level focuses on halting rollbacks and protecting vital programs, organizers say on the state and local levels, the climate movement is still looking to gain ground. 鈥淟ocal and state action is going to be really important over these next four years, and there are some really big opportunities there,鈥� says Carter. 

One of those opportunities could be broadening the climate movement in the U.S. by rallying Republican politicians and constituencies behind IRA programs. Although no Republican backed the IRA during the Biden administration, Republican-held areas have benefited most from the legislation since its enactment. Nearly , representing 85% of investments and 68% of jobs, are in Republican congressional districts.

Carter sees the effects of disruptions on North Carolinians, where just over half of voters in the 2024 presidential election. Many in the state were counting on energy assistance, tax rebates, or new employment opportunities on infrastructure or clean energy projects鈥攖he futures of which are now uncertain. 

If Republican lawmakers want to remain in office in North Carolina and other Republican-held areas, they may need to bend to constituents who do not want to see cost-saving programs stripped away. 鈥淭his is a big opportunity to leverage those connections and mobilize representatives to push back,鈥� says Carter. 鈥淚f that funding is taken away, that has a real impact for people across the political spectrum.鈥�

Focusing on the material benefits of climate resilience programs has already been a winning strategy elsewhere, including in Schlenker-Goodrich鈥檚 home state of New Mexico. While New Mexico has Democratic leaders, it is a top . Transitioning to cleaner energy promises to reshape the state鈥檚 economy and workforce. Still, the , legislation aimed at decarbonization, is progressing through the state legislature. Schlenker-Goodrich says it has been successful because 鈥渃limate equity principles are built into the bill,鈥� ensuring communities on the front lines of climate change and those most affected by the energy transition will be targeted for support.听

Messaging around the Clear Horizons Act in New Mexico highlights how the legislation would not only reduce pollution but also create new jobs, spur small business growth, and improve infrastructure. Carter says these talking points are persuasive in Republican-led constituencies and perhaps even on the federal level. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something [to keep in mind], especially when you have a federal administration that is clearly very concerned with cost cutting,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e should be talking about cost benefits of renewable energy, of electrification, [and] the burdens of high energy bills.鈥�

Looking ahead, the climate movement is not only facing Trump鈥檚 early top-down attacks but also fatigue and harmful misinformation campaigns seeking to divide it. 鈥淧eople are getting burned out,鈥� Carter says. 鈥淚 think it has felt like that for a while in the environmental space, but with the very quick dismantling of federal programs, it puts a lot of concern, fear, and just general exhaustion into the advocacy community.鈥�

To combat these threats and ensure continued progress toward climate justice, organizers say building power within communities is more critical than ever. This work begins on the local level and requires critics of the Trump administration to be strategic in their organizing and communication. Carter, who organizes with North Carolinians across the political spectrum, suggests focusing conversations with neighbors on shared goals and material concerns rather than misinformation. 鈥淪ay, Hey, if you need help with your HVAC, you need to call your legislator and tell them 鈥業 need this funding,鈥�鈥� Carter explains. 鈥淭his is a huge opportunity to unite people.鈥�

Looking at the bigger picture, Schlenker-Goodrich urges imagination and even optimism. 鈥淚 think this moment compels us to think pretty expansively about not only how we defend against this moment, but also, how do we create something new that emerges out of it?鈥�