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During stuffy United Nations press conferences, in luxurious auditoriums and at sticky progressive celebrations, one word was on everyone’s lips at this year’s New York Climate Week: affordability.

The American energy chief, Chris Wright, said that during President Trump the United States is “returning to practical energy policies that focus on affordability”. The former energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, said Democrats must center on renewable power’s capacity to shrink power bills to secure elections. And advocates of the likely future New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, trumpeted their initiatives to link green policies with actions to cut city residents’ rent and ensure transit cost-effective.

The attempt to link everyday cost issues to global warming is not new. The concept 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, calling his flagship green carbon-cutting policy the Inflation Reduction Act, from 2022.

Now, as utility bills soar around the country, Americans on every part of the ideological divide are framing their energy and climate proposals as ways to safeguard ordinary people’s 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 climate-focused events, scheduled to align with the United Nations general assembly.

This year, the Trump administration’s anti-environmental blitz threw a massive 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 labeling green energy a “fraud” and Wright declaring: “The more people have gotten into so-called climate action, the more expensive their energy has become.”

Environmental supporters attempted to reveal those statements as inaccurate 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and California, unveiled a plan to speed new power-line construction and reinstate green energy incentives which Trump repealed earlier this year. Its title: the Cheap Energy Act.

It’s a strategy 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 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 essential, 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 advocated a emphasis on affordability in the climate fight. But many demanded more far-reaching solutions that provide more immediate benefits. Instead of merely adjusting with the tax code to incentivize green technology buildout – a hallmark of Biden’s climate efforts – politicians should prioritize less wonky, “green economic populist” campaigns 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 establish a broad support [who have] faith in public institutions and trust in the government,” Batul Hassan, labor director 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, embodies this kind of agenda, said Hassan. On Wednesday of Climate Week, activists 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 broad coalition, 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 thrum of Charli xcx.

Communication is important, but merely speaking 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 failed to deliver on his promise of reducing bills while giving huge benefits to oil giants and other corporations. And many Democrats are also culpable of favoring their corporate donors’ interests, Avilés said.

“Some people talk 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 providing relief to people. And we see that when we really prioritize people over profit, people respond to that. People can discern who is for real.”

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