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At stuffy United Nations media briefings, in luxurious halls and at sticky progressive dance parties, one word was on everyone’s lips at this year’s Climate Week NYC: cost-effectiveness.

The American energy chief, Chris Wright, said 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 ability to shrink power bills to secure elections. And advocates of the likely future 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 tie everyday cost issues to global warming is not new. The concept was a key part of the Green New Deal, a progressive policy platform championed by young 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 flagship green carbon-cutting policy the Inflation Reduction Act, from 2022.

Now, as utility bills rise around the country, Americans on every part of the ideological divide are framing their energy and climate plans as ways to safeguard ordinary people’s finances.

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Spotlight

Every year, Climate Week in New York City unites government officials, corporate actors, experts and activists for a vast array of environment-centered events, timed to align with the United Nations general assembly.

This year, the Trump administration’s environment-deregulating campaign cast a significant 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 labeling green energy a “scam” and Wright saying: “The more people have gotten into so-called climate action, the more expensive their energy has become.”

Environmental supporters worked to expose those statements as false 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unveiled a proposal to accelerate new power-line construction and restore green energy incentives which Trump repealed earlier this year.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 strategy that Jennifer Granholm, who served as US energy secretary under Biden, said she anticipated as climate slips 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 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 called for more far-reaching solutions that deliver 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” initiatives 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 extremely important for starting to establish a broad support [who have] trust in public institutions and confidence in the government,” Batul Hassan, labor director at the progressive thinktank Climate and Community Institute, remarked at a panel.

Mamdani, the socialist who secured 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 celebration 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 create 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 beat of Charli xcx.

Communication is critical, 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 reducing 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 dealing with that disappointment 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 tell who is for real.”

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