New Delhi: Europe is currently reeling under intense heatwaves. But despite roads melting, trams malfunctioning and several cases of traffic lights melting, most
on the continent, including common people and the political class, are against installing air conditioners. They have argued that this would be against their climate goals and also against the long-established cultures as it would mean considerable changes to their buildings and infrastructure.
People from warmer countries would be puzzled to know that apart from several homes and schools, even hospitals do not have an AC unit fitted in them. A report in The Wall Street Journal explored reasons for this aversion to ACs amongst people in European countries.
‘We don’t want to look like America’: Aesthetic concerns lead people to say ‘No’ to ACs
The first and foremost reason for Europeans resisting ACs is their concern for culture and their aesthetic concerns. While rows of outdoor AC units are a common thing in US, Brazil and several Asian nations, people in Europe see it as visually appalling and also incompatible with historical neighbourhoods.
The Deputy Mayor of Paris, Audrey Pulvar was quoted in the Wall Street Journal report as saying, “The goal isn’t to be like some Italian, Brazilian or American cities, where you have entire rows, entire wall convectors outside buildings that make an unbearable racket, releasing heat and toxic fumes.”
Apart from this aesthetic concerns also play an important role in people not having AC units. In Paris at least, air conditioners can be rejected if they are thought to be damaging the limestone façades of Haussmann-era buildings.
ACs are too noisy: Permission needed to install them in apartments
According to the report in certain parts of Europe, installing an AC would need permission from the residents of a building. Often the approval of local authorities and associations of a building is needed for an individual to install an AC in his or her home
In France the law allows building associations to object to the installation of an AC if it exceeds the permitted noise levels. The AC unit usually makes a sound which is equivalent to a light breeze, but still, Association members say that they can penetrate through the concrete walls and cause noise pollution.
Many apartment associations said that “AC units become too noisy and disturb the peace and tranquility of a neighbourhood”, according to a lawyer, Christophe Sanson. They therefore object to ACs being installed in homes. In fact several cases are pending in courts, regarding people wanting to install ACs and apartments associations objecting to it.
Climate concerns
Apart from the above reasons, European climate concerns also become a major factor in people’s opposition to ACs. They feel that ACs which are energy intensive machines, might undermine their climate goals and commitments.
Authorities have offered alternatives like natural ventilation, better insulation, shutters, tree cover and urban planning. Yet a report by an intergovernmental panel said that these measures are not as effective as ACs in reducing deaths due to heatwaves.
French climate minister Monqiue Barbut said that ACs cannot be put everywhere. He said that installing ACs cannot prevent crops from dying or forest fires which have become a common feature in several countries in the continent.
Europe wasn’t built for 40 degrees
The European infrastructure was not built to endure such high temperatures. Many have argued that temperatures above 40 degrees are still rare in the countries here.
In France only 25% homes have ACs, while the percentage for England is even less at just 5%. In Italy meanwhile, nearly 56% homes now have ACs, said the report. Paris has crossed 40 degrees Celsius, only for the fourth time since the 19th century.
The heatwave led several schools to shut down, the railway infrastructure and the roads in the country were also impacted, due to the heatwave. Experts said that they had imagined this scenario in 2030, but they reached these conditions in 2026 itself.
ACs become political flashpoint
In several European countries, ACs have also become political flashpoints. While the Far-Right leaders and parties in France have called for an expansion of the ACs, many traditionalists are still against it.
Far-Right leader Marine Le Pen called for an expansion of the AC system in France. The Deputy of the French National Assembly said, “These heat waves kill. We must implement a major air conditioning plan.”
Portable ACs have also entered homes in England. London mayor Sadiq Khan also argued that at least schools and hospitals must be equipped with ACs.
