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During formal United Nations media briefings, in swanky auditoriums and at crowded progressive celebrations, one word was on all lips at this year’s New York Climate Week: cost-effectiveness.

The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, said that under President Trump the United States is “reverting to commonsense energy policies that concentrate on affordability”. The previous energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, said Democrats must center on renewable power’s ability to shrink power bills to win elections. And advocates of the almost certainly soon-to-be New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, promoted their efforts to link green policies with actions to cut city residents’ rent and make transit cost-effective.

The attempt to link everyday cost issues to global warming 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 adopted the framing in the White House, naming his flagship green carbon-cutting policy the Inflation Reduction Act, from 2022.

Now, as utility bills soar around the country, Americans on all sides of the ideological divide are presenting their energy and climate proposals as ways to safeguard ordinary people’s finances.

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In Focus

Annually, Climate Week in New York City brings together government officials, corporate actors, experts and campaigners for a wide range of environment-centered events, scheduled to coincide 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 sought to frame its deregulatory agenda as a victory to reduce Americans’ bills, with Trump labeling 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 expose those claims as false while getting Americans on board with green policies on the grounds that they can lower costs. For instance, two Democratic representatives, from Illinois and California, introduced 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 framework that Jennifer Granholm, who served as US energy secretary under Biden, said she anticipated as climate falls down the list of public priorities 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 critical mode,” she told reporters over avocado toast one morning. “Affordability is key.”

Those well to Granholm’s left also advocated 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 signature of Biden’s climate efforts – politicians should prioritize less wonky, “green economic populist” campaigns such as no-cost 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 establish a broad support [who have] trust in public institutions and trust in the government,” Batul Hassan, workforce lead at the progressive thinktank Climate and Community Institute, remarked at a panel.

Mamdani, the socialist who achieved a remarkable win in the New York City mayoral primary this summer, represents 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 honor the candidate’s success.

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

Messaging 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 not delivered to deliver on his promise of lowering bills while handing 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 everyday folks, but then they create policies that are intended for the rich. We’ve been living with that frustration for a long time,” she said. “We need to concentrate on truly providing relief to people. And we see that when we genuinely prioritize people over profit, people respond to that. People can discern who is for real.”

Further Reading:

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