2023-07-19 06:35:00
As heat wave intensifies in southern Europe, many homes do not have air conditioning
Air conditioning units are seen in a residential building in Shanghai on June 23. Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The “extreme heat” currently affecting much of southern Europe and the Mediterranean is forecast to intensify by mid-week, and new records may be set, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has warned. Many homes across Europe do not have air conditioning, even when temperatures exceed 37°C in parts of Italy, Greece and Spain.
Less than 10% of European homes have air conditioning (AC), according to a 2018 International Energy Agency (IEA) report, the agency’s latest data available. In total, the European Union only accounts for regarding 6% of global air conditioning units.
By contrast, regarding 90% of homes in the US and Japan are equipped with air conditioning.
“Air conditioning is highly concentrated in a small number of countries, with two-thirds of all systems in use found in just three countries: China, the United States and Japan,” the International Energy Agency said in the 2018 report. .
IEA figures released in 2021 show that the United States accounts for regarding 20% of the world’s air conditioning units and China accounts for 40% of air conditioning units, while the rest of the world accounts for a combined 29%.
“In general, Europeans have been less inclined to install an air conditioner compared to their American counterparts until recently, although this is now changing as air conditioning ownership in Italy, Spain, Greece and southern France increased rapidly in the last decade,” the IEA said in 2018.
While the proliferation of air conditioning in the United States, China, and Japan helps those countries stay cool in hot weather, it also increases energy use and carbon emissions.
“The use of air conditioners and electric fans to keep cool accounts for almost 20% of the total electricity used in buildings around the world today,” the International Energy Agency said in its 2018 report. “And this trend will grow as global economic and population growth becomes more focused on warmer countries.
As demand for air conditioning increases, European governments are trying to find ways to keep costs and emissions low.
The Italian government has implemented maximum cooling levels in summer and minimum heating levels in winter in all public buildings except hospitals. Meanwhile, France last summer implemented fines for stores that keep their doors open even when the air conditioning is on.
IEA figures for 2021 show that global CO2 emissions from air conditioning amounted to 994 metric tons, which are predominantly indirect emissions from electricity generation.
With an estimated 1.6 billion electric air conditioning units worldwide, a number expected to triple by 2050, the cooling technology might release enough greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere to cause temperatures to rise. 0.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute.
The IEA noted that investing in more efficient air conditioning units might halve future energy demand.
With previous reporting by CNN’s Eliza Mackintosh and Ivana Kottasová.
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