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During formal UN press conferences, in luxurious auditoriums and at crowded progressive dance parties, one word was on everyone’s lips at this year’s New York Climate Week: cost-effectiveness.

The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, stated 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 focus on renewable power’s ability 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 connect green policies with actions to lower city residents’ rent and make transit affordable.

The effort to link daily cost issues to global warming is longstanding. The concept was a central part of the Green New Deal, a forward-thinking 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, calling his flagship green carbon-cutting policy the Inflation Reduction Act, from 2022.

Now, as utility bills rise around the country, Americans on all sides of the political spectrum are presenting their energy and climate plans as methods to protect everyday citizens’ pocketbooks.

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In Focus

Every year, Climate Week in New York City brings together government officials, corporate actors, scholars and activists for a wide range of environment-centered events, timed to align with the United Nations general assembly.

This year, the Trump administration’s anti-environmental blitz cast a massive shadow over the event. In speeches through the week, White House officials aimed to frame its deregulatory agenda as a victory to lower 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 claims as inaccurate while persuading 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unveiled a proposal to accelerate new power-line construction and restore green energy incentives which Trump repealed earlier this year. Its name: the Cheap Energy Act.

It’s a framework 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 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 secondary [concern], not a must-have, and right now they’re in the critical mode,” she told reporters during avocado toast one morning. “Affordability is crucial.”

Those well to Granholm’s progressive side also called for a focus on affordability in the climate fight. But many demanded more ambitious solutions that provide more immediate benefits. Instead of merely adjusting with the tax code to encourage green technology expansion – a signature of Biden’s climate efforts – politicians should focus on less technical, “green economic populist” campaigns such as no-cost transit and the development of decarbonized public housing.

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

Mamdani, the socialist who achieved a stunning win in the New York City mayoral primary this summer, embodies this kind of platform, said Hassan. On Wednesday of Climate Week, progressives gathered for a dance party at the renowned 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 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.

Messaging 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 failed to deliver on his promise of reducing 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 everyday 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 concentrate on truly bringing relief to people. And we see that when we really prioritize people over profit, people react to that. People can tell who is sincere.”

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