I should go to the dentist more often. I really ought to join a gym. I wish I had partied less in college and bought more Apple stock. Had I ditched the pint of Guinness and invested in Apple in the early 2000s, each pint worth of stock would now be valued at $3,500. Over those college years, I would have accumulated enough stock to buy a brownstone on New York’s pricey Upper West Side. All cash.
Looking back, I probably still would have enjoyed that cold brew with my friends. A pint of Guinness felt just right in the moment. 2025 was far off. As the world gathered for the United Nations General Assembly to discuss climate change, among other global challenges, here’s a contrarian take on what’s just right for this moment.
The climate movement, by and large, embraced the mantra of “reduce, reuse, recycle” and banked on enough us—voters, policy makers, businesses, consumers—caring deeply about the future to change our daily habits to curb global warming. It’s not happening. Carbon emissions hit a fresh record last year, according to EU data.
WE WANT IT NOW
Let’s pivot. Reducing doesn’t deliver a dopamine hit, nor does thinking about tomorrow’s perils. Who genuinely wants less when they can have more? Who truly saves that rich chocolate cake for another day when it looks perfectly tasty right now? Let’s get more of what we want today with the cash and the resources we have.
When I purchase a refurbished iPhone 13 for my daughter at a fraction of the cost of that new iPhone 17 that just launched, I am not reducing my consumption, I get more. She has the phone she (kinda) wants and I keep a few hundred dollars in my pocket. I can use that to buy her Robux, or invest it in her college fund. I can even afford a second iPhone for her brother, who will inevitably complain that her iPhone 13 camera is so much better than his iPhone 12.
American consumers are drowning in record debt, reports from the Fed show. Levels exceed $18 trillion, with average interest rates on credit cards soaring to 21%, and typical cash advances running even higher. Eleven cents for every dollar in after-tax income now pays off debt and interest. For low- and moderate-income households, it’s even more. A quarter of buy now, pay later users reported a late payment last year. Transunion data shows delinquencies on car loans now surpass 2009 levels, while a PYMNTS Intelligence study found that two-thirds of American households live paycheck to paycheck.
A perfect storm of rising prices, high interest rates, growing consumer debt, and tariff uncertainty creates ripe conditions to re-imagine our daily spending choices.
EMISSIONS AND BUDGETS GO TOGETHER
To date, one of the biggest winners of this financial squeeze are debt providers stepping in as consumers scramble to afford essentials. Klarna reported 24% gross merchandise value growth year-over-year for June and BNPL is now available virtually everywhere for virtually anything, from groceries to fast food. Affirm raked in $1.2 billion from interest payments in the year ending June, up 76%.
Facing the near-total reversal of hard-won policies designed to curb emissions, especially in the U.S, many in the climate movement have yet to capitalize on this opportunity hiding in plain sight: rewiring today’s spending to benefit consumers’ wallets and the planet. When every dollar counts, the choices that stretch our paychecks further often align perfectly with the ones that reduce our environmental footprint. We don’t need to care about 2050 to make smarter decisions today.
I don’t need to worry about my emissions profile to enjoy driving my ID.4 electric vehicle. It’s got more horsepower than a Mustang or a Camaro. It’s far cheaper to run. I avoid the queues at the gas station and charge for free at work. It parks itself. My kids no longer complain that the car is too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer.
There’s no difference in the quality of electricity that comes out of my sockets, except that it is generated by community solar, and I pay less for it. Taking the Metro from the airport to our offices in DC is frequently faster, more relaxing, and often less than a tenth of the rideshare price.
OFFER MORE
I am not alone. PBS reports that thrifting has exploded in the U.S. amidst high prices for fashion and tech. Reuters analysis showed that a popular basket of apparel at fast fashion leader Shein increased 123% between April and July this year.
Too Good To Go, which connects users with businesses that have surplus food, is now one of the top apps in the food delivery category, up there with Uber Eats, DoorDash and Grubhub. Its surprise baskets, filled with unsold items like baked goods, takeout meals, or groceries, offer consumers great value at half price or less from Whole Foods, Cava, and other popular chains.
The climate movement spent decades asking people to sacrifice today for tomorrow. Let’s flip the switch. Give people more today—more money in their pockets, more value from their purchases, more control over their finances. Let’s seize this moment to innovate and drive efficiencies that make daily essentials more affordable, without relying on costly loans. Let’s shutter the failing business of offering people less and double down on optimizing what we have. We’ve gotten good at it. This is our time.
For my family, the smartest financial moves—buying refurbished, driving electric, rescuing surplus food—happen to be sustainable ones. We’re not saving the planet because we suddenly started caring more about the future. We’re doing it because we figured out how to make the most of what we have to live better today.
The greenest choice is often the one that keeps you out of the red.
Jean-Louis Warnholz is the cofounder and CEO of Future.