From rent to utility bills: the politicians and advocates making climate policy part of the affordability agenda | Climate crisis

A a group of progressive politicians and activists are reimagining emissions cuts as a form of economic populism as Trump administration derides climate policy as a “scam” and fails to deliver on promises to curb energy prices and inflation.

Climate policy was once seen as a test of moral resolve, asking Americans to accept higher costs to avert environmental disaster, but it ignores how rising temperatures itself translate into higher costs for working people, said Stevie O'Hanlon, co-founder of the youth-led Sunrise Movement.

“People are becoming more aware of the relationship between climate and cost of living,” she said.

Utility bills and health care costs are rising as extreme weather increases. Public transport systems needed to meet climate goals are struggling reduction in federal funding. Rents are rising as landlords pass on the costs of inefficient buildings, higher insurance and disaster repairs, turning climate risk into a monthly premium. Meanwhile, wealth inequality is growing under an administration that has taken on donation record from big oil.

“We need to connect climate change to the day-to-day economic reality that we all face in this country,” O'Hanlon said.

Progressive politicians supported the idea. Zoran Mamdani, New York's Democratic and socialist mayor-elect, has moved forward. Accessibility-first climate policy such as free buses to reduce car use and a plan to make schools more climate resilient. Seattle's socialist mayor-elect Kathy Wilson said she would do so. stimulate social housing while pursuing green modernization.

Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner combines calls to rein in polluters and protect waterways with criticism of oligarchic policies. In Nebraska, independent U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborne supports right-to-repair laws that allow farmers and consumers to repair equipment, an approach he doesn't call climate policy but which climate advocates say could cut emissions from manufacturing. And in New Jersey and Virginia, Democrats, “who are by no means left-wing radicals,” ran successful campaigns aimed at reduction in utility costsO'Hanlon said.

Movements across the country are also working to reduce emissions while building economic power. The Chicago teachers union has negotiated a contract requiring solar panels in schools and clean energy career opportunities for students. Teachers' unions in Los Angeles and Minneapolis are also committed to improving conditions for staff and students as they decarbonise.

“We see them as real heroes in the fight for what we [at the Climate and Community Institute] has been called “green economic populism,” said Ritika Ramamurthy, communications director at the left-leaning climate think tank Climate and Community Institute.

From Maine to Texas, unions are also pushing to organize the workforce for decarbonization. energy And buildings. Renters' unions are working to green their homes while protecting tenants from climate disasters and rising bills, Ramamurthy said. From Connecticut to California they fight for protection from evictionwhich can prevent displacement after a disaster and empower tenants to demand green upgrades. Some also directly advocate for climate-friendly modernization.

The movements are also working to expand the energy of state ownership, which proponents say can strengthen democratic control and lower rates by eliminating shareholders' profits. The coalition won in New York 2023 policy directing a state-owned utility to build renewable energy with the help of a union workforce, and advocates are pushing customer owned utility in Maine and state takeover local utility company in Baltimore.

To hold polluters accountable for their contributions to climate change, activists and legislators across the country policy support this will force them to pay to reduce emissions and improve sustainability. Vermont and New York passed such “climate superfund” laws this year, and New York and Maine are expected to vote on such measures soon. And lawmakers in other states hope to introduce or reintroduce bills in 2026, even as the Trump administration tries kill laws.

“When insurance becomes unaffordable and states continually recover from natural disasters, people don't need any technical explanation to understand that something is seriously wrong,” said Cassidy DiPaola, spokeswoman for the Make Polluters Pay campaign. “Climate super funds link these costs to liability, saying companies that cause damage should not be shielded from paying for it.” Polls show bills are coming popularshe said.

Discussing people's financial concerns can help build support for climate policy, DiPaola said. Polls show voter support accountability measures against polluters and that most believe that the climate crisis rising cost of living.

“The fastest way to depolarize the climate is to simply talk about who pays and who benefits,” she said. “People don't agree with a lot of things, but they understand they're getting ripped off.”

Linking green initiatives with economic concerns is nothing new. It was the central place in Green New DealThis push formed the basis of Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which included the largest climate investment in US history. But critics argue that the IRA failed to build economic power among ordinary people.

Although this stimulated green production and created about 400,000 new jobs“These benefits have not been tangible for most Americans,” Ramamurthy said. Proposed investments in housing and public transport – which may have been more prominent – were cut in the final package. His incentives also largely went towards private companies And richer households. 2024 Poll found only 24% of registered voters believed that the IRA had helped them.

“The IRA focused on creating incentives for capital, relying almost entirely on carrots with very few sticks,” Ramamurthy said.

By promoting renewable energy, the IRA also contained handouts for polluters, O'Hanlon said. According to her, Biden did not link his decision to the recognition of economic difficulties.

“The administration has done a great job of bringing jobs and green energy together,” she said. “But they said the economy was doing well, and that seemed out of touch.”

Trump took advantage of Americans' economic fears, O'Hanlon said, but did not offer them relief.

“We need a vision that can actually counter the narrative that Trump is pushing,” she said. “We need a vision to solve the climate crisis while also improving the lives of working people.”