During formal United Nations media briefings, in swanky auditoriums and at sticky socialist celebrations, one word was on all lips at this year’s New York Climate Week: affordability.
The American energy chief, Chris Wright, said that during President Trump the United States is “returning to commonsense energy policies that focus on affordability”. The former energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, emphasized Democrats must center on renewable power’s capacity to reduce power bills to secure elections. And supporters of the likely future New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, promoted their initiatives to link green policies with actions to lower city residents’ rent and ensure transit affordable.
The effort to tie daily cost issues to climate change is not new. The concept was a key part of the Green New Deal, a progressive policy platform championed by young 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 flagship green carbon-cutting policy the Inflation Reduction Act, from 2022.
Now, as energy costs rise around the country, Americans on every part of the political spectrum are presenting their energy and climate plans as ways to safeguard everyday citizens’ pocketbooks.
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Spotlight
Annually, Climate Week in New York City unites government officials, business representatives, experts and activists for a vast array of environment-centered events, timed 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 appearances through the week, White House officials sought to frame its deregulatory agenda as a victory to reduce Americans’ bills, with Trump calling green energy a “fraud” and Wright saying: “The more people have gotten into so-called climate action, the more expensive their energy has become.”
Environmental supporters worked to expose those statements as inaccurate while persuading Americans on board with green policies on the grounds that they can cut 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 name: the Cheap Energy Act.
It’s a framework that Jennifer Granholm, who served as US energy secretary under Biden, said she anticipated 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 essential, 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 advocated a focus on affordability in the climate fight. But many demanded more far-reaching solutions that provide more quick benefits. Instead of merely tinkering with the tax code to encourage green technology buildout – a signature of Biden’s climate efforts – politicians should prioritize less technical, “green economic populist” campaigns such as fare-free transit and the build-out of decarbonized public housing.
“These kinds of programs do have emissions-reduction benefits, but they’re highly 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 left-wing who achieved 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 gathered 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 build a mass movement, 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 beat of Charli xcx.
Messaging is critical, but merely speaking 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 lowering bills while handing massive benefits to oil giants and other corporations. And many Democrats are also guilty of favoring their corporate donors’ interests, Avilés said.
“Some people speak about working-class folks, but then they make policies that are intended for the rich. We’ve been living with that frustration for a long time,” she said. “We need to concentrate on actually providing relief to people. And we see that when we genuinely center people over profit, people respond to that. People can tell who is for real.”
Further Reading:
- US energy department tightens rules on workers’ use of climate crisis language
- Trump administration spending $625m to revive dying coal industry
- Los Angeles vowed to host the Olympics without straining the bank and environment. Can it?
