Is an air-conditioning revolution coming to Europe?
5 hours ago
- #European Policy
- #Air Conditioning
- #Climate Change
- As heat waves become more frequent in Europe, demand for air conditioners (ACs) is rising sharply, with the International Energy Agency predicting widespread adoption by 2050.
- Politicians are politicizing ACs, with the right pushing for expansion and the left raising equity concerns about high-energy cooling favoring the rich.
- ACs in Europe are increasingly seen as essential for productivity, health, and survival, especially for vulnerable groups like the elderly, with estimates showing they prevented nearly 200,000 premature deaths in 2019 among those over 65.
- Europe is warming faster than other continents, with countries like the UK, Switzerland, Norway, and Finland facing the largest relative increases in cooling needs if global temperatures rise 2°C above preindustrial levels.