Green Prosperity: Can Climate Policy Win Elections?

In Climate Week NYC 2022, affordability was the buzzword across various platforms including United Nations press conferences, auditoriums, and socialist parties. Energy cost and climate change mitigation policies are being interconnected by stakeholders from all political perspectives in an effort to bridge the gap between the two.

Chris Wright, the US energy secretary, emphasized the Trump administration’s intent to reorient energy policies around the concept of affordability. Former energy secretary Jennifer Granholm also stressed the importance of affordable renewable power in winning over voters. Supporters of Zohran Mamdani, a potential future mayor of New York City, have also been advocating for green policies that aim to reduce rent and transportation costs for city dwellers. (source)

This approach to juxtapose the issues of daily living expenses and global warming is not novel. The Green New Deal, an environmental and economic policy proposal introduced in 2018 by the Sunrise Movement and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, was based on this concept. Adopting a similar framework, President Joe Biden named his primary green carbon-cutting policy the Inflation Reduction Act.

With utility bills on the rise nationwide, climate and energy proposals are increasingly being presented as solutions that can alleviate the financial burdens of the average American.

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In focus

Climate Week, taking place annually in New York City, coincides with the United Nations general assembly, and brings together figures from government, academia, business, and activism to discuss climate-related topics.

The Trump administration’s disregard for environmental concerns loomed large over this year’s event. White House officials pushed their deregulatory agenda as a win for consumers, labeling green energy as a “scam” and blaming increased energy costs on climate activism.

On the other hand, advocates for climate action aimed to refute these claims, arguing that green policies can indeed reduce costs. As an example, two Democrat representatives proposed a new bill called the Cheap Energy Act. The bill seeks to expedite the construction of new power lines and reestablish green energy incentives that were repealed under the Trump administration.

Jennifer Granholm, who served as US energy secretary under Biden, suggested that as climate change falls down the political priority list and economic concerns rise, politicians might refrain from using the term ‘climate’ and instead emphasize affordability.

Advocates further to the left echoed the need for affordability in climate policies but called for more immediate benefits and ambitious solutions. These include populist campaigns for fare-free transit and decarbonized public housing, as opposed to complex tax incentives for green technology.

“These kinds of programs do have decarbonization benefits, but they’re extremely important for starting to build up a mass base [who have] trust in public institutions and trust in the government,” said Batul Hassan, labor director at the Climate and Community Institute.

Zohran Mamdani, who had a triumphant victory in the New York City mayoral primaries, embodies this kind of policy, according to Hassan.

“It has long been understood 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,” said New York City comptroller Brad Lander during an interview at a party celebrating Mamdani’s success.

Alexa Avilés, a New York City council member and democratic socialist, pointed out that merely discussing affordability is insufficient. She criticized Trump for failing to lower bills while granting significant benefits to oil companies. She also accused many Democrats of prioritizing the interests of their corporate donors over the needs of the working class.

“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 tell who is for real.” Avilés added.