As the U.S.-Iran war rages on with no clear end in sight, gasoline and oil prices continue to rise. And as temperatures spike with the arrival of summer, homeowners and renters will have to make difficult decisions on whether to cool their homes – and face a steep energy bill – or suffer in the heat.

Yale Climate Connections spoke to Natasha Vidangos of the Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, about why Latinos are particularly hard-hit by rising energy costs. Vidangos is the associate vice president of innovation and technology policy at the Environmental Defense Fund, where she oversees work to advance an efficient and equitable clean energy transition.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Yale Climate Connections: Let’s talk a little about the reality of our Latino communities here in the United States. Right now, we know that Hispanic households are spending more on energy costs. Why are we in this situation?

Natasha Vidangos: Well, it comes from multiple reasons. First, there’s the simple truth that energy costs are rising. We’re seeing the cost of oil going up and the cost of gas going up. So that’s a problem that’s really affecting the whole country. And beyond that, we see that the Hispanic community is paying more on top of what the average American family pays.

So that’s a very serious situation. We hear stories of families who have to choose between paying rent or paying for energy, or medicine or food. Those are decisions no one should ever have to make.

And why does the Hispanic community pay a bit more? It usually comes down to a combination of factors. Many in that community live in rental homes. Frequently, energy efficiency is much lower. Appliances are older. The insulation in the house is worse. Also, there is a large Latino community in many places where it is very hot, in areas with a high need for air conditioning, and that also drives up the need to pay more to have the basics, to live in peace.

YCC: And we’ll be entering the summer season – the hottest time of year – and with that, we’ll see these high bills.

Vidangos: I have to say that when electricity bills rise right before summer, it’s a real risk. Some people in our communities are very vulnerable to heat. Heat affects older people more; it affects those with asthma. There are other health conditions that make heat not just an inconvenience – it’s a matter of life and death. So we truly need to find serious solutions to try to bring relief to energy costs and ensure that everyone can have enough air conditioning to stay healthy.

YCC: I also want to highlight that our energy infrastructure is already an extremely old system. I talk a lot about Puerto Rico, where the energy system doesn’t work well – especially after Hurricane María in 2017. Many people are no longer alive today because, without that functioning infrastructure, they had no access to a working refrigerator to store their medicine or no access to dialysis due to the lack of power.

Vidangos: There are many places in the United States where that is a problem. And there are others where the infrastructure is better. And what’s the difference? That’s where I start to think about the solutions we have. What do we do right now? The good news is that solutions exist.

We can install more renewable energy, which – after a decade of heavy investment, hard work, and innovation – is rapidly falling in cost. Renewable energy is now more efficient, more deployable than ever, and cleaner, producing less pollution. It’s faster to install. That’s one of the big topics coming up around data centers, which need electricity quickly. Renewable energy is often one of the fastest options. That’s already a change – a change that gives me a lot of hope.

There’s also the option of making the electrical grid work better. We have parts of it that are old. It’s time for us to be able to have a more modern system and invest in making it work – consistent and low-cost. What’s missing is that we need to push for representatives who are genuinely looking for serious solutions to these problems, because the solutions exist. We just have to work together to implement them.

YCC: I want to mention that electric vehicles are once again generating growing interest due to rising gas prices. Do you think we’ll continue to see this increased interest in electric cars now because of the crisis in Iran?

Vidangos: For the electric vehicle market, it’s going to be very interesting, because on one hand, we see the Trump administration trying to eliminate all subsidies for electric vehicles and cut all the funding and programs that helped people buy them. But at the same time, we’ve already reached the point where electric vehicles are becoming popular. They’re fun to drive. You don’t have to stop for gas, you don’t have to deal with that smell of gas when you fill up. And there’s also a more robust used market now, so among used vehicles, there are lower prices and more variety in the offerings.

We also see that outside the United States, there is enormous investment in electric vehicles, and costs are dropping very rapidly. I don’t know where we’ll end up; I think we’re losing a huge opportunity to be producers of electric vehicles. I think it’s a big mistake, and I hope that someday we’ll be able to undo those decisions and return to being one of the leaders in this space. But yes, the world is going to have many more electric vehicles than it has in the past. And I think the conflict in Iran will only push all those forces forward and make it happen faster. In fact, I bought one this past weekend.

Read: The rest of the world is lapping the U.S. in the EV race

YCC: Congratulations! Well, the last question I have is: What can Latino communities do to ensure a better and safer future in the United States?

Vidangos: Well, this is a very important moment for all of us to get involved. The problems we’re seeing affect the Latino community greatly – they affect everyone. There’s an energy crisis, a health crisis, and a need for many changes in our current policies. So this is the time to vote for representatives who will truly represent us and who will work to solve the problems we face.

Because what we’re seeing is that Trump, who made the promise that he would cut the electric bill in half, has instead seen it go up 13%. That’s a promise that hasn’t been kept, and there are thousands of promises that haven’t been kept.

So this is the moment to truly elect those who are looking for solutions to the problem. What we’re seeing are not the actions of a government that is seriously trying to lower the cost of electricity or oil. We’re seeing a government that is actively trying to block renewable energy at every step it can.

So it’s time to vote, to get involved in communities, to look for options and find ways we can get representatives who are part of the solution.