Make Green Powerful Again: Could Arguments to the Wallet Make Environmental Action an Winning Issue?

At stuffy United Nations press conferences, 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, stated that during President Trump the United States is “returning to practical energy policies that focus on affordability”. The former energy secretary, Jennifer Granholm, emphasized Democrats must center on renewable power’s ability to reduce power bills to win elections. And advocates of the likely soon-to-be New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, promoted their initiatives to connect green policies with efforts to lower city residents’ rent and make transit cost-effective.

The attempt to link daily cost issues to global warming is not new. 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 ideological divide are presenting their energy and climate proposals as ways to safeguard ordinary people’s finances.

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Spotlight

Annually, Climate Week in New York City unites government officials, business representatives, 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 cast a significant shadow over the event. In speeches through the week, White House officials sought to peg its deregulatory agenda as a win to reduce 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.”

Environmental supporters worked to reveal those claims as false while persuading Americans to support with green policies on the grounds that they can lower costs. For instance, two Democratic representatives, from Illinois and California, unveiled a proposal to accelerate new power-line construction and restore green energy incentives which Trump canceled 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 expected as climate falls down the list of public priorities 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 essential, and right now they’re in the critical mode,” she told reporters over avocado toast one morning. “Affordability is key.”

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 incentivize green technology buildout – a hallmark of Biden’s climate efforts – politicians should focus on less wonky, “green economic populist” initiatives such as fare-free transit and the development of low-carbon public housing.

“These kinds of programs do have decarbonization benefits, but they’re extremely important for starting to establish a broad support [who have] faith in public institutions and trust in the government,” Batul Hassan, labor director at the progressive thinktank Climate and Community Institute, said 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 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 create a mass movement, people need to see the connection between the transition to renewable energy and paying less money,” New York City comptroller Brad Lander said in an interview at the party, shouting over the thrum of Charli xcx.

Messaging is critical, but merely talking 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 failed to deliver on his promise of reducing bills as giving massive 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 working-class folks, but then they make policies that are intended for the rich. We’ve been dealing 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 prioritize 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 allocating $625m to resurrect dying coal industry
• Los Angeles pledged to host the Olympics without straining the bank and environment. Is it possible?