The extraordinary heat wave that smacked into Europe in late June revived the long-running, never-serious debate about air conditioning, or, more precisely, the continent’s lack thereof.
The World Meteorological Organization called it an “extraordinary heatwave” that broke records. Health and agriculture were negatively affected, as were infrastructure and labour productivity.
France saw temperatures reach 43.8°C at Saintes, with Paris exceeding 40°C on both June 24 and 25. 18 people died, including two children. Britain set a possible new June record when England reached 37.7°C, while British health authorities issued red heat-health alerts warning of possible risks, even to those in perfect health.
And yet, the European response was to vilify the air conditioner, not weak energy grids, backward energy policy, or public buildings that are unfit for summer. No, it was the AC.
Air conditioning: A basic necessity, not a luxury
One supposed “expert” touted architectural advances in new builds.
“New buildings can be designed to limit their cooling needs, they can favor alternatives to air conditioning systems,” said one from Institute for European Energy and Climate Policy last year.
What about the fact that Europeans are loath to knock down their ancient and beautiful cities to rebuild them with these supposed green advancements?
People who grow up in properly functioning countries do not think of AC as a piece of decadent technology. Most people grew up enjoying it in their grandparents’ modest homes. AC is a perfectly acceptable, affordable piece of infrastructure that improves both comfort and safety.
AC can make dangerous 40-degree heat tolerable, ensure that classrooms do not have to be closed for safety reasons, and help people sleep properly at night.
Jean-Christophe Jasmin of Cardus, who spent much of June in France and the United Kingdom, pointed out: “They opine on the AI revolution, but they missed the A/C revolution.”
That is true. The European Union rarely hesitates to regulate new advances in artificial intelligence, yet it cannot cool a hospital ward; nurses in Germany were being given ridiculous vests filled with ice packs so they would not overheat.
France’s clean energy paradox
Ironically, experts in France warn about the emissions that might result from installing AC, even though the country has one of the cleanest grids among Western, high-income countries. In 2024, France generated 361.7 TWh from nuclear power; low-carbon generation reached 95 percent of total generation, and fossil-fired electricity fell to its lowest level since the early 1950s.
France even exports 89 TWh of electricity annually, helping neighbouring countries avoid generating almost 20 million tonnes of CO₂.
The French have already built a dense, reliable, low-emission power system. If any major country should be able to install AC to help vulnerable people without feeling guilty, it surely is France. Instead, public debate still treats the minority of French people who have AC as a national failure.
Recent reporting found that only about one in four French homes has air conditioning. An Ipsos survey found that only 17 percent of French people consider it environmentally friendly, even as 84 percent see it as the most effective way to reduce discomfort from summer heat.
“A Tylenol won’t heal you from the flu, but it can make it tolerable,” says Jasmin, and he is precisely right. Air conditioning does not solve drought, wildfires, or the atmospheric physics of heat waves, just as an ambulance does not solve aging and a furnace does not solve winter.
Germany’s shifting energy landscape
Germany, which was also affected by the heat wave, is dealing with a different, shifting energy situation. It phased out nuclear power in 2023 as part of its push to increase reliance on renewables. Germany’s regulator says renewables supplied 59 percent of electricity generation in 2024. However, conventional generation remained at 176.8 TWh, gas-fired generation rose 8.6 percent to 56.9 TWh, and Germany imported 67.0 TWh while exporting 35.1 TWh.
Weather-dependent systems cannot replace reliable, abundant power. The average person is not worshipping wind turbines or solar panels while sweltering. The wind cannot perform on command, and that means hospitals, railways, and everyone else suffer as a result.
Canada’s role as a stable energy leader
Canada can help here, given its massive supplies of stable, plentiful fuel. Our crude production reached 5.13 million barrels per day in 2024, and exports of crude oil and equivalent products reached an annual record in the same year.
Canada’s first LNG export facility, LNG Canada in Kitimat, is projected by the Canada Energy Regulator to have a Phase 1 capacity of 14 million tonnes per year, with a possible Phase 2 that could double capacity. A proposed British Columbia project, Ksi Lisims, has already resulted in a non-binding agreement for Germany’s SEFE to buy 1 million tonnes of LNG per year, with deliveries possible in the early 2030s.
Canada can also help where France is strongest: nuclear power. Saskatchewan reported that uranium exports to the EU rose 306 percent in 2023 to almost $1 billion, while Canadian uranium remains strategically important to French nuclear supply.
What is apparent is the refusal of politicians in France and elsewhere to take steps that would improve people’s lives through better energy policy. For Jasmin, the refusal was an indicator of more than just that.
“This is what decline feels like. People live in beautiful museum cities,” says Jasmin. “This is a civilization that not only built Notre-Dame Cathedral … but now can’t even install A/C.”
Geoff Russ is the editor-at-large of Without Diminishment. He is also a contributor to the National Post, Modern Age, and the Spectator Australia. He can be reached on X.com at @GeoffRuss3.
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