Front steps and ornate entrance doors of San Francisco City Hall on a sunny day, San Francisco, California, August 19, 2025. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO - The City of San Francisco on Friday filed a lawsuit against the Department of Energy over changes to emissions standards, which could cost the city over $130,000 in federal funding for clean energy.
The lawsuit filed by City Attorney David Chiu states that terms and conditions introduced by the DOE on April 12 of this year require cities applying to the Clean Cities program to certify they do not operate programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
Chiu’s lawsuit alleges the DOE’s new standard terms and conditions violate the Administrative Procedures Act as well as the Constitution’s Separation of Powers and Spending Power doctrines.
"Climate change is an existential crisis, and this funding has a proven record of cutting fossil fuel emissions," Chiu said in a press release. "San Francisco cares about our planet and is committed to taking steps to reverse climate change. The (Trump) Administration is again using illegal funding conditions on critical grants to push its anti-equity agenda."
Program origins
The backstory:
Congress in 1992 took steps to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil and invest in alternative fuels. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 required state and federal fleets to invest in alternative-fueled vehicles, and directed the DOE to promote and incentivize alternative energy programs.
The following year, the DOE created the Clean Cities Program to support the adoption of alternative fuels and fuel vehicles.
Since joining the program in 1994, San Francisco has been able to use DOE funds to install over 1,600 electric vehicle chargers and reduce gasoline use by 6.6 million gallons per year.
The city, on April 1 of this year, was awarded $130,000 in Clean Cities funding. Those funds were earmarked to facilitate the adoption of alternative fuels, connect local communities to alternative fuel opportunities, and develop programs and activities to promote and expand the use of alternative fuel vehicles.
The Clean Cities Program is just one of several from which the city of San Francisco receives funding that goes toward energy conservation and planning, improving building performance standards, and supporting programs that cut emissions.
Dig deeper:
The Trump Administration has made cracking down on DEI a cornerstone of his second term in office, the effects of which have been felt by both government agencies and private institutions alike.
The Source: San Francisco City Attorney's Office