🔗 Share this article

At formal United Nations press conferences, in swanky auditoriums and at crowded socialist celebrations, one term was on everyone’s minds at this year’s Climate Week NYC: cost-effectiveness.

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

The effort to link daily cost issues to global warming is longstanding. The idea was a central part of the Green New Deal, a progressive policy platform popularized by youth-led climate group the Sunrise Movement and New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2018. Joe Biden adopted the approach in the White House, calling his flagship green carbon-cutting policy the Inflation Reduction Act, from 2022.

Now, as energy costs soar around the country, Americans on every part of the ideological divide are framing their energy and climate plans as ways to protect everyday citizens’ finances.

Essential Updates

• Uncovered: Europe losing 600 football pitches of wildlife and crop land a day
• UK fracking ban to be accelerated as Labour responds to Reform promise
• Israel’s environmental destruction in Gaza sends this signal: even if we stopped dropping bombs, you couldn’t live here

In Focus

Annually, Climate Week in New York City brings together public leaders, business representatives, scholars and campaigners for a vast array of environment-centered events, timed to coincide with the United Nations general assembly.

This year, the Trump administration’s anti-environmental campaign threw a significant shadow over the event. In appearances through the week, White House officials sought to frame its rule-cutting agenda as a win to reduce Americans’ bills, with Trump calling green energy a “scam” and Wright declaring: “The more people have gotten into supposed climate action, the more expensive their energy has become.”

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

It’s a framework that Jennifer Granholm, who served as US energy secretary under Biden, said she expected as climate slips down the list of public priorities 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 secondary [concern], not a essential, and right now they’re in the critical mode,” she told reporters over avocado toast one morning. “Affordability is key.”

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

“These kinds of programs do have decarbonization benefits, but they’re highly important for starting to build up a mass base [who have] faith in public institutions and confidence in the government,” Batul Hassan, labor director at the progressive thinktank Climate and Community Institute, said at a panel.

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

“It has long been understood that if we’re going to build a mass movement, people need to see the connection between the shift to renewable energy and spending less money,” New York City comptroller Brad Lander said in an interview at the party, shouting over the beat of Charli xcx.

Communication is important, but merely talking about affordability is insufficient, Alexa Avilés, a New York City council member and progressive, told the Guardian at the Mamdani event. Trump, for instance, has not delivered to fulfill on his promise of lowering bills while giving massive benefits to oil giants and other corporations. And many Democrats are also guilty of favoring their business backers’ interests, Avilés said.

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

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 breaking the bank and environment. Is it possible?