Green groups sue Trump administration over report downplaying climate damage

Environmental advocates are suing the Trump administration over what they described as a secretive plan to undermine climate science.

In a new lawsuit filed Tuesday, the Environmental Defense Fund and Union of Concerned Scientists challenge a new federal report that claimed climate models contain “exaggerated projections of future warming” and that “CO2-induced warming might be less damaging economically than commonly believed.”

There is a scientific consensus that climate change is exacerbating extreme weather.

The report, from the Energy Department (DOE) was released alongside an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal to overturn the 2009 Endangerment Finding which said planet-warming gases pose a threat to the public.

In their suit, the groups alleged that the department and agency “have sought to manufacture a basis to reject” the scientific consensus on climate change.

“They have done so through a plan hatched and carried out in secret. In March 2025, shortly after being confirmed to office, Secretary of Energy Christopher Wright quietly arranged for five hand-picked skeptics of the effects of climate change to form a Climate Working Group,” the suit alleged.

“The Climate Working Group worked in secret for months to produce a report for DOE and EPA that would provide justification for their predetermined goal of rescinding the Endangerment Finding. In May, unbeknownst to the public, the group transmitted its report to EPA, and EPA then relied extensively on the report in preparing its proposal to rescind the Endangerment Finding,” it continued. 

The groups asked a federal court in Massachusetts to vacate actions taken by the working group, including the controversial report — stating that the group should be considered a formal advisory committee under law and is therefore subject to certain specific requirements.

Reached for comment, Energy Department spokesperson Ben Dietderich referred The Hill to the forward of the report.

That forward, authored by Wright, says “I asked a diverse team of independent experts to critically review the current state of climate science, with a focus on how it relates to the United States.” 

“I chose them for their rigor, honesty, and willingness to elevate the debate. I exerted no control over their conclusions,” Wright added.

The EPA declined to comment, saying it does not comment on pending litigation.