Citizens in major European countries hit by this summer's severe heat waves named expanding air conditioning access a more urgent priority than fighting climate change, a survey found. Facing life-threatening heat, people are increasingly putting immediate cooling ahead of the broader cause of protecting the environment.
Britain's Guardian reported the findings on the 24th, citing a survey by pollster YouGov conducted from the 7th of last month through the 11th of this month among adults in six European countries — Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland — with 1,028 to 2,105 respondents per country.
The survey found that support for adopting air conditioning outweighed support for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in all six countries. In Britain, 48% said the widespread adoption of air conditioning was important, more than double the 23% who prioritized climate action. Similar patterns appeared in Spain (48% to 26%), Germany (45% to 26%), France (45% to 33%) and Poland (41% to 20%). Italy showed the narrowest gap at 35% to 32%, but still gave greater weight to the need for air conditioning.
Europe's air conditioning penetration remains far below that of the United States, where 93% of households have it. By country, the rates are Italy 63%, Spain 58%, France 30%, Poland 23%, Germany 16% and Britain 11%.
Citizens also spoke with one voice on easing rules around installing air conditioners. Between 61% and 73% of respondents said all newly built homes should come with air conditioning as a standard feature. Between 65% and 75% said people should be free to install air conditioners without approval from local governments or landlords.
By contrast, only 12% to 24% worried that a rise in air conditioning would weaken the resolve to address the climate crisis. When it came to hesitations about installing air conditioners, respondents overwhelmingly cited "economic cost" (51% to 75%) over "harm to the environment" (6% to 27%).
Behind this shift in opinion lies the disaster-level heat that swept Europe this summer. According to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), Western Europe recorded its hottest June and July on record this year.
With heat exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) lingering for long stretches in many areas, the damage snowballed. Recent tallies from national health authorities estimate that more than 25,000 people have already died from causes such as heat-related illness this year in four European countries alone — Germany, France, Spain and Italy. In Germany alone, 14,000 people lost their lives to the heat. In Spain, France and elsewhere, hot, dry weather combined with massive wildfires to displace more than 300,000 people.
The Guardian analyzed that the issue of spreading air conditioning amid the heat has emerged as a new front line in a "culture war" within European politics. Mainstream parties that prioritize the environment face criticism that they are blocking the adoption of air conditioning by overly ideological standards, while the right wing is on the offensive, arguing the realist case that "air conditioning is a necessity for survival."
Right-wing commentators in the United States have jabbed at Europe's low air conditioning penetration as "proof that Europe is failing at governance due to excessive government regulation."
