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At formal UN media briefings, in luxurious halls and at sticky socialist dance parties, one word was on all minds at this year’s Climate Week NYC: affordability.

The American energy chief, Chris Wright, said that during President Trump the United States is “returning to commonsense energy policies that concentrate on affordability”. The previous energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, said Democrats must focus on renewable power’s capacity to reduce power bills to secure elections. And supporters of the almost certainly soon-to-be New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, trumpeted their efforts to connect green policies with efforts to cut city residents’ rent and make transit cost-effective.

The effort to link everyday cost issues to global warming is longstanding. The idea was a central part of the Green New Deal, a progressive policy platform popularized by young climate group the Sunrise Movement and New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2018. Joe Biden picked up the approach in the White House, calling his signature green carbon-cutting policy the Inflation Reduction Act, from 2022.

Now, as energy costs rise around the country, Americans on all sides of the political spectrum are framing their energy and climate plans as ways to safeguard ordinary people’s finances.

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Spotlight

Annually, Climate Week in New York City unites public leaders, business representatives, scholars and activists for a vast array of climate-focused events, scheduled to coincide with the United Nations general assembly.

This year, the Trump administration’s anti-environmental campaign threw a massive shadow over the event. In speeches through the week, White House officials aimed to frame its rule-cutting agenda as a victory to lower 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.”

Climate advocates attempted to expose those claims as false while getting Americans on board with green policies on the grounds that they can cut costs. For instance, two Democratic representatives, from Illinois and California, unveiled a proposal to speed new power-line construction and restore green energy incentives which Trump repealed earlier this year. Its title: the Cheap Energy Act.

It’s a strategy that Jennifer Granholm, who acted as US energy secretary under Biden, said she anticipated as climate slips 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 must-have, and right now they’re in the critical mode,” she told reporters over avocado toast one morning. “Affordability is crucial.”

Those significantly Granholm’s progressive side also advocated a emphasis on affordability in the climate fight. But many demanded more ambitious solutions that provide more quick benefits. Instead of merely tinkering with the tax code to incentivize green technology expansion – a signature of Biden’s climate efforts – politicians should prioritize less wonky, “green economic populist” campaigns such as fare-free transit and the development of low-carbon public housing.

“These kinds of programs do have decarbonization benefits, but they’re extremely important for starting to build up a broad support [who have] trust 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 secured a stunning win in the New York City mayoral primary this summer, represents this kind of platform, said Hassan. On Wednesday of Climate Week, progressives assembled for a celebration at the renowned Sounds of Brazil music venue to honor the candidate’s success.

“It has long been recognized that if we’re going to build 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 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 not delivered to deliver on his promise of lowering bills as 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 designed for the rich. We’ve been dealing with that frustration for a long time,” she said. “We need to focus on actually providing relief to people. And we see that when we genuinely prioritize people over profit, people respond to that. People can discern who is sincere.”

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