Make Eco-Friendly Powerful Again: Could Appeals to the Pocketbook Transform Environmental Policy an Election-Winner?

At formal UN media briefings, in luxurious auditoriums and at crowded progressive dance parties, one word was on everyone’s lips at this year’s Climate Week NYC: affordability.

The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, stated that under President Trump the United States is “reverting to practical energy policies that focus on affordability”. The previous energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, emphasized Democrats must center on renewable power’s capacity to reduce power bills to win elections. And supporters of the likely soon-to-be New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, trumpeted their efforts to link green policies with actions to lower city residents’ rent and make transit cost-effective.

The attempt to link daily cost issues to climate change is longstanding. The idea was a key part of the progressive climate plan, 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, naming his signature green carbon-cutting policy the Inflation Reduction Act, from 2022.

Now, as utility bills soar around the country, Americans on all sides of the ideological divide are framing their energy and climate plans as ways to safeguard 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 climate-focused events, timed to align with the United Nations general assembly.

This year, the Trump administration’s environment-deregulating campaign threw a significant shadow over the event. In appearances through the week, White House officials aimed to peg its rule-cutting agenda as a win 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 claims as false while getting Americans to support with green policies on the grounds that they can cut costs. For instance, two Democratic representatives, from Illinois and California, introduced a plan to speed new power-line construction and restore green energy incentives which Trump canceled earlier this year. Its name: the Cheap Energy Act.

It’s a framework that Jennifer Granholm, who acted 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 nice-to-have [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 significantly Granholm’s left also called for a focus on affordability in the climate fight. But many called for more ambitious solutions that provide more immediate benefits. Instead of merely adjusting with the tax code to incentivize green technology expansion – a signature of Biden’s climate efforts – politicians should focus on less technical, “green economic populist” campaigns such as no-cost transit and the development of decarbonized public housing.

“These kinds of programs do have decarbonization benefits, but they’re extremely important for starting to build up a mass base [who have] faith in public institutions and confidence in the government,” Batul Hassan, workforce lead at the left-leaning 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 agenda, said Hassan. On Wednesday of Climate Week, progressives assembled for a celebration at the renowned Sounds of Brazil music venue to celebrate the candidate’s success.

“It has long been recognized that if we’re going to build a mass movement, 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 beat of Charli xcx.

Messaging is important, but merely speaking 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 fulfill on his promise of lowering bills as handing huge benefits to oil giants and other corporations. And many Democrats are also culpable of prioritizing their corporate donors’ interests, Avilés said.

“Some people speak about everyday 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 focus on truly 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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