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During stuffy UN media briefings, in swanky halls and at sticky progressive dance parties, one word was on everyone’s minds at this year’s Climate Week NYC: cost-effectiveness.

The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, stated that under President Trump the United States is “returning to commonsense energy policies that concentrate on affordability”. The former energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, emphasized Democrats must focus on renewable power’s ability to shrink power bills to win elections. And advocates of the almost certainly future New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, promoted their initiatives to link green policies with actions to cut city residents’ rent and make transit cost-effective.

The effort to tie daily cost issues to climate change is longstanding. The concept was a key part of the progressive climate plan, 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 picked up the framing in the White House, naming his signature green carbon-cutting policy the Inflation Reduction Act, from 2022.

Now, as utility bills rise around the country, Americans on all sides of the political spectrum are presenting their energy and climate proposals as ways to protect ordinary people’s pocketbooks.

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Spotlight

Annually, 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 coincide with the United Nations general assembly.

This year, the Trump administration’s environment-deregulating campaign threw a significant shadow over the event. In speeches 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 statements as false while persuading Americans to support with green policies on the basis that they can lower costs. For instance, two Democratic representatives, from Illinois and California, introduced a proposal to speed new power-line construction and restore green energy incentives which Trump canceled 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 expected as climate falls down the list of public priorities 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 secondary [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 well to Granholm’s left also called for a focus on affordability in the climate fight. But many demanded more far-reaching solutions that deliver 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” campaigns 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] trust in public institutions and trust in the government,” Batul Hassan, labor director at the left-leaning thinktank Climate and Community Institute, remarked at a panel.

Mamdani, the left-wing who achieved a stunning win in the New York City mayoral primary this summer, embodies this kind of agenda, said Hassan. On Wednesday of Climate Week, activists assembled 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 connection between the transition to renewable energy and spending 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 not enough, 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 reducing 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 speak about everyday folks, but then they create policies that are designed for the rich. We’ve been living with that disappointment for a long time,” she said. “We need to focus 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 sincere.”

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