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During formal UN press conferences, in swanky auditoriums and at sticky progressive dance parties, one term was on everyone’s minds at this year’s New York Climate Week: affordability.

The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, said that during President Trump the United States is “returning to commonsense energy policies that focus on affordability”. The previous energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, emphasized Democrats must focus on renewable power’s ability to reduce power bills to win elections. And advocates of the almost certainly soon-to-be New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, promoted their efforts to connect green policies with actions to cut city residents’ rent and ensure transit cost-effective.

The attempt to link everyday cost issues to climate change is longstanding. The concept was a central 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 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 presenting their energy and climate plans 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 campaigners for a wide range of environment-centered events, scheduled to coincide with the United Nations general assembly.

This year, the Trump administration’s anti-environmental blitz cast 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 saying: “The more people have gotten into so-called climate action, the more expensive their energy has become.”

Climate advocates worked to expose those claims as inaccurate 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California, unveiled a proposal to speed new power-line construction and reinstate green energy incentives which Trump repealed earlier this year. Its name: the Cheap Energy Act.

It’s a strategy that Jennifer Granholm, who acted as US energy secretary under Biden, said she anticipated as climate falls 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 nice-to-have [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 significantly Granholm’s left also called for a emphasis on affordability in the climate fight. But many called for more far-reaching solutions that deliver more quick benefits. Instead of merely adjusting with the tax code to encourage green technology expansion – a hallmark of Biden’s climate efforts – politicians should prioritize less wonky, “green economic populist” campaigns such as fare-free 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 build up a mass base [who have] faith in public institutions and trust in the government,” Batul Hassan, workforce lead 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 platform, said Hassan. On Wednesday of Climate Week, activists assembled for a dance party at the legendary Sounds of Brazil music venue to celebrate the candidate’s success.

“It has long been recognized that if we’re going to create 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, speaking over the thrum of Charli xcx.

Messaging is critical, but merely talking about affordability is insufficient, 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 reducing bills as handing huge benefits to oil giants and other corporations. And many Democrats are also guilty of prioritizing their corporate donors’ interests, Avilés said.

“Some people speak 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 concentrate on actually bringing relief to people. And we see that when we genuinely prioritize people over profit, people react to that. People can tell who is sincere.”

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