Environmental groups are taking legal action against the Trump administration, claiming it is pushing a hidden agenda that threatens climate science.
A lawsuit was filed on Tuesday by the Environmental Defense Fund alongside other organizations, arguing that recent climate models tend to make “exaggerated projections of future warming” and that the economic impacts of CO2-induced warming might be less severe than previously thought.
There’s a strong scientific consensus that climate change intensifies extreme weather events.
The Department of Energy (DOE) recently released a report coinciding with a proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to overturn a 2009 declaration that recognized the threat posed by planet-warming gases.
According to the lawsuit, the group alleges that both the DOE and other agencies are attempting to create a justification for dismissing the scientific consensus on climate change.
They argue that these actions were carried out through plans that were developed covertly. In March 2025, Energy Secretary Christopher Wright reportedly assembled a group of climate change skeptics to form what is known as a Climate Working Group.
This group has been operating in secrecy to draft reports for the DOE and EPA, which allegedly support a pre-determined aim of revoking the danger declaration. Unknown to the public until May, this group shared its findings with the EPA, which then based its proposal to withdraw the recognition of danger on those reports.
The plaintiffs are urging federal courts in Massachusetts to nullify the actions taken by the working group, including these contentious reports. They argue that this group should be classified as a formal advisory committee under the law, making it subject to specific regulatory requirements.
Energy spokesperson Ben Mortrich was contacted for comments.
In response, Wright stated, “We assembled a diverse team of independent experts to critically evaluate the current state of climate science, particularly in relation to the United States.”
He added, “I selected them for their rigor and sincerity, and I did not influence their conclusions.”
The EPA has opted not to comment and stated that it won’t address the ongoing lawsuit.
