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During formal UN media briefings, in luxurious halls and at crowded socialist celebrations, one term was on everyone’s lips at this year’s New York Climate Week: cost-effectiveness.

The American energy chief, Chris Wright, said that during President Trump the United States is “returning to practical energy policies that focus on affordability”. The former energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, emphasized Democrats must center on renewable power’s capacity to reduce power bills to win elections. And supporters of the likely soon-to-be New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, trumpeted their efforts to link green policies with efforts to cut city residents’ rent and ensure transit affordable.

The attempt to tie daily cost issues to climate change is longstanding. The idea was a key part of the progressive climate plan, a progressive policy platform championed by youth-led climate group the Sunrise Movement and New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2018. Joe Biden picked up the framing in the White House, naming his signature green carbon-cutting policy the Inflation Reduction Act, from 2022.

Now, as utility bills soar around the country, Americans on every part of the ideological divide are presenting their energy and climate plans as methods to protect everyday citizens’ pocketbooks.

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In Focus

Annually, Climate Week in New York City brings together public leaders, corporate actors, scholars and campaigners for a vast array of climate-focused events, timed to align with the United Nations general assembly.

This year, the Trump administration’s anti-environmental blitz threw a massive shadow over the event. In speeches through the week, White House officials aimed to peg its rule-cutting agenda as a victory to lower Americans’ bills, with Trump calling green energy a “scam” and Wright declaring: “The more people have gotten into so-called climate action, the more expensive their energy has become.”

Environmental supporters worked to reveal those claims as inaccurate while getting Americans to support with green policies on the grounds that they can lower costs. For instance, two Democratic representatives, from Illinois and California, unveiled a plan to accelerate new power-line construction and restore green energy incentives which Trump canceled earlier this year. Its title: the Cheap Energy Act.

It’s a strategy that Jennifer Granholm, who acted as US energy secretary under Biden, said she anticipated as climate falls down the list of political concerns for Americans, while financial anxieties rise. “My guess is you’re not going to see a lot of politicians using the word ‘climate’, because people see that as a nice-to-have [concern], not a must-have, and right now they’re in the critical mode,” she told reporters during avocado toast one morning. “Affordability is key.”

Those significantly Granholm’s left also called for a focus on affordability in the climate fight. But many called for more far-reaching solutions that provide more immediate benefits. Instead of merely adjusting with the tax code to encourage green technology buildout – a hallmark of Biden’s climate efforts – politicians should prioritize less technical, “green economic populist” initiatives such as fare-free transit and the build-out of decarbonized public housing.

“These kinds of programs do have emissions-reduction benefits, but they’re extremely important for starting to build up a broad support [who have] trust in public institutions and confidence in the government,” Batul Hassan, workforce lead at the left-leaning thinktank Climate and Community Institute, remarked at a panel.

Mamdani, the left-wing who secured a remarkable win in the New York City mayoral primary this summer, represents this kind of agenda, said Hassan. On Wednesday of Climate Week, progressives assembled for a dance party at the renowned Sounds of Brazil music venue to honor the candidate’s success.

“It has long been understood that if we’re going to build a broad coalition, people need to see the link between the transition to renewable energy and paying less money,” New York City comptroller Brad Lander said in an interview at the party, shouting over the thrum of Charli xcx.

Communication is critical, but merely speaking about affordability is insufficient, Alexa Avilés, a New York City council member and democratic socialist, told the Guardian at the Mamdani event. Trump, for instance, has failed to deliver on his promise of lowering bills as giving massive benefits to oil giants and other corporations. And many Democrats are also culpable of favoring their business backers’ interests, Avilés said.

“Some people talk about working-class folks, but then they make policies that are designed for the rich. We’ve been living with that disappointment for a long time,” she said. “We need to focus on actually bringing relief to people. And we see that when we genuinely prioritize people over profit, people react to that. People can discern who is for real.”

Further Reading:

• US energy department tightens rules on workers’ use of climate crisis language
• Trump administration allocating $625m to resurrect dying coal industry
• Los Angeles vowed to host the Olympics without straining the bank and environment. Can it?