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At formal United Nations press conferences, in swanky auditoriums and at sticky progressive celebrations, one word was on everyone’s minds at this year’s New York Climate Week: cost-effectiveness.

The American energy chief, Chris Wright, stated that under President Trump the United States is “returning to practical energy policies that concentrate on affordability”. The former energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, emphasized Democrats must center on renewable power’s capacity to reduce power bills to secure elections. And supporters of the almost certainly soon-to-be New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, trumpeted their initiatives to link green policies with actions to cut city residents’ rent and make transit affordable.

The attempt to tie daily cost issues to global warming is longstanding. The concept was a central part of the progressive climate plan, a progressive policy platform popularized by young climate group the Sunrise Movement and New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2018. Joe Biden picked up the approach in the White House, calling his flagship green carbon-cutting policy the Inflation Reduction Act, from 2022.

Now, as energy costs rise around the country, Americans on every part of the political spectrum are framing their energy and climate proposals as ways to safeguard ordinary people’s pocketbooks.

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In Focus

Every year, Climate Week in New York City unites government officials, business representatives, scholars and activists for a vast array of climate-focused events, scheduled to coincide with the United Nations general assembly.

This year, the Trump administration’s environment-deregulating blitz threw a significant shadow over the event. In speeches through the week, White House officials sought to frame its deregulatory agenda as a win to lower Americans’ bills, with Trump labeling green energy a “scam” and Wright saying: “The more people have gotten into supposed climate action, the more expensive their energy has become.”

Environmental supporters attempted to expose those claims as inaccurate while getting Americans to support with green policies on the grounds that they can cut costs. For instance, two Democratic representatives, from Illinois and California, unveiled a proposal to speed 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 expected as climate falls down the list of political concerns for Americans, while economic worries 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 essential, and right now they’re in the must-have mode,” she told reporters over avocado toast one morning. “Affordability is crucial.”

Those significantly Granholm’s progressive side also called for a emphasis on affordability in the climate fight. But many demanded more ambitious solutions that provide more quick benefits. Instead of merely tinkering with the tax code to encourage green technology expansion – a hallmark of Biden’s climate efforts – politicians should prioritize less wonky, “green economic populist” initiatives such as no-cost transit and the build-out of decarbonized public housing.

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

Mamdani, the left-wing who achieved a remarkable win in the New York City mayoral primary this summer, embodies this kind of platform, said Hassan. On Wednesday of Climate Week, activists gathered for a celebration at the legendary Sounds of Brazil music venue to celebrate the candidate’s success.

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

Communication is important, but merely talking about affordability is not enough, 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 while giving huge benefits to oil giants and other corporations. And many Democrats are also culpable of prioritizing their corporate donors’ interests, Avilés said.

“Some people talk about working-class folks, but then they create policies that are intended for the rich. We’ve been dealing with that frustration for a long time,” she said. “We need to focus on truly providing relief to people. And we see that when we really center people over profit, people react to that. People can discern who is sincere.”

Further Reading:

• US energy department cracks down on workers’ use of climate crisis language
• Trump administration spending $625m to revive dying coal industry
• Los Angeles pledged to host the Olympics without straining the bank and environment. Can it?