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At formal UN press conferences, in luxurious halls and at crowded progressive dance parties, one word was on everyone’s lips at this year’s New York Climate Week: affordability.

The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, said that under 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 soon-to-be New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, promoted their initiatives to link green policies with actions to cut city residents’ rent and make transit affordable.

The effort to tie everyday cost issues to global warming is longstanding. The concept was a key part of the Green New Deal, a forward-thinking policy platform popularized 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 signature green carbon-cutting policy the Inflation Reduction Act, from 2022.

Now, as energy costs soar around the country, Americans on every part of the political spectrum are framing their energy and climate plans as ways to safeguard everyday citizens’ finances.

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Spotlight

Every year, Climate Week in New York City brings together public leaders, corporate actors, experts and campaigners for a vast array of climate-focused events, timed to coincide with the United Nations general assembly.

This year, the Trump administration’s environment-deregulating 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 lower Americans’ bills, with Trump calling green energy a “fraud” and Wright declaring: “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 inaccurate while persuading 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California, unveiled a proposal to speed new power-line construction and reinstate green energy incentives which Trump repealed earlier this year.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 framework that Jennifer Granholm, who acted as US energy secretary under Biden, said she expected 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 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 left also called for a emphasis on affordability in the climate fight. But many demanded more far-reaching solutions that provide more quick 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” initiatives such as no-cost transit and the development of decarbonized public housing.

“These kinds of programs do have emissions-reduction benefits, but they’re highly important for starting to establish a mass base [who have] faith 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, 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 honor 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 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 not enough, Alexa Avilés, a New York City council member and democratic socialist, told the Guardian at the Mamdani event. Trump, for instance, has not delivered to fulfill on his promise of lowering 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 intended for the rich. We’ve been living 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 genuinely prioritize people over profit, people respond to that. People can discern who is for real.”

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