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At formal United Nations media briefings, in luxurious halls and at sticky progressive celebrations, one word was on all minds at this year’s New York Climate Week: cost-effectiveness.

The US energy secretary, 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, emphasized Democrats must focus on renewable power’s capacity to reduce 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 efforts to lower city residents’ rent and make transit cost-effective.

The effort to link daily cost issues to climate change is not new. The idea was a central part of the Green New Deal, 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 approach in the White House, naming his signature green carbon-cutting policy the Inflation Reduction Act, from 2022.

Now, as utility bills soar 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

Annually, Climate Week in New York City brings together government officials, corporate actors, experts and activists for a vast array of climate-focused events, timed to align with the United Nations general assembly.

This year, the Trump administration’s environment-deregulating campaign threw a massive shadow over the event. In appearances through the week, White House officials sought to peg its deregulatory agenda as a victory to reduce Americans’ bills, with Trump calling green energy a “scam” and Wright saying: “The more people have gotten into so-called climate action, the more expensive their energy has become.”

Climate advocates worked to reveal those claims as false while persuading Americans to support with green policies on the basis that they can cut costs. For instance, two Democratic representatives, from Illinois and California, unveiled a plan to speed new power-line construction and restore green energy incentives which Trump canceled earlier this year. Its name: the Cheap Energy Act.

It’s a strategy that Jennifer Granholm, who served as US energy secretary under Biden, noted 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 must-have, and right now they’re in the critical mode,” she told reporters during avocado toast one morning. “Affordability is key.”

Those well to Granholm’s left also called for a focus on affordability in the climate fight. But many demanded more far-reaching solutions that provide more quick benefits. Instead of merely tinkering with the tax code to incentivize green technology buildout – a signature of Biden’s climate efforts – politicians should prioritize less technical, “green economic populist” initiatives 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] faith in public institutions and trust in the government,” Batul Hassan, workforce lead at the progressive thinktank Climate and Community Institute, said at a panel.

Mamdani, the left-wing who achieved a stunning 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 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, speaking over the thrum of Charli xcx.

Messaging is critical, but merely speaking 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 fulfill on his promise of reducing bills as 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 speak about everyday folks, but then they make policies that are intended for the rich. We’ve been dealing with that disappointment for a long time,” she said. “We need to concentrate on actually bringing relief to people. And we see that when we really center people over profit, people respond to that. People can discern who is for real.”

Further Reading:

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