Over 1,000 people have died across Europe in recent weeks due to the current record-breaking heat wave, more than doubling last summer’s death toll. Across Europe, particularly in Spain and France, people have seen all-time high temperatures exceeding 100 degrees. Southern France hit 111 degrees last Tuesday, the hottest day in the country since official records began nearly a century ago. The sick and elderly are especially susceptible to heat stroke, and dozens of people in France drowned after swimming into dangerous areas to avoid the heat.
Of course, similar temperatures are common every summer across the United States. Heck, temps may touch 100 this week where I live in the Upper Midwest. Unfortunately, Europe’s quasi-religious obsession with climate change and net-zero crusade has left it woefully unprepared to face hot temperatures. While over 90% of American homes have air conditioning, only 20% of European homes enjoy the benefits of modernity.
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Globally, the climate impact of air conditioning is little more than a rounding error. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA,) “space cooling,” meaning the use of both fans and A/C, makes up between 3% and 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Space cooling only accounts for roughly 7% of global energy consumption. While some right-wing parties in Europe have proposed financial stimulus to fund the adoption of A/C, leftist and centrist governments across the continent have used oppressive regulations to discourage the use of air conditioning. After the U.S. mass-adopted A/C in the 1960s, heat-related deaths dropped by 80%. The IEA estimates that A/C saves around 195,000 lives annually.
Europe does have structural, real-world issues that hinder the mass adoption of A/C. Many European buildings are old and make the installation of central air expensive or impossible. Europeans, on average, make less money and pay far higher tax rates than the average American, but a quick search on Amazon reveals dozens of models of inexpensive window-mounted A/C units with prices as low as $139.99. The EU legally mandates that at least 30% of its spending goes towards combating climate change and is projected to spend 662 billion euros between 2021-2027 on climate initiatives. Europe could spend 1/24th of its climate budget to buy every one of its 200 million private households a window-mounted A/C unit.
In response to American commentary surrounding European heat-related deaths, the French government posted on X: “We’re not banning A/C, we’re making sure future summers need it less.” This encapsulates the European arrogance and delusion that led them to this point. Greenhouse gas emissions are up 9% globally since 2015, despite the Paris Agreement and regulations placed on industries by Western governments. The European Union has reduced emissions by 40% since the early 1990s, and that sacrifice by European citizens has done absolutely nothing to combat climate change. China accounts for nearly 30% of all global greenhouse gas emissions, five times more than all EU nations combined.
AMERICA-HATERS WON NEW YORK. GLOBAL SOCCER FANS LOVE AMERICA ANYWAY
Instead of simple, cost-effective measures to protect the vulnerable, Europe is content to sacrifice its own citizens at the altar of global warming. This is no different than human sacrifice practiced by many backwards, primitive cultures throughout history. Aztec priests believed that sacrificing children to the rain god Tlaloc would prevent drought. If the children cried on their way to the sacrificial altars, it was believed that rain would be abundant.
The Moche, in modern-day Peru, believed that sacrificing young men would lessen the blow of El Nino. Iron Age Germanic and Celtic tribes practiced human sacrifice in order to secure favorable weather, abundant harvests, and victory in battle. Refusing to take advantage of A/C will do no more to prevent climate change than sacrificing children on the top of a mountain. It is time for Europe to join the modern world.
Brady Leonard (@bradyleonard) is a writer, musician, and host of The No Gimmicks Podcast.