Europeans favour air conditioning over emissions cuts, poll finds

Given the choice, more people across six major European nations including the UK favour encouraging the adoption of air conditioning over keeping carbon emissions down, a survey has found, the Guardian reported on Monday.

After four extreme heatwaves in as many years, the poll found sizeable majorities who believe it should be easier to install air conditioning in homes. The findings underline a growing tension between climate goals and the immediate comfort of citizens facing ever-hotter summers.

The survey, conducted across the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland, comes as Europe logs over 30,000 excess summer deaths, provisional figures cited by scientists who blame man-made climate change for the blistering heat.

The Guardian's report, published Monday, said the poll revealed a clear shift in public priorities: when forced to choose, respondents favoured making air conditioning more accessible over pursuing emissions reductions. The survey's findings follow four consecutive extreme heatwaves that have made cooling a matter of public health, not just comfort.

In Italy, the trend is unmistakable. The Local Italy reported that air conditioning use has driven a sharp rise in electricity bills, a consequence of millions of households installing units to cope with summer temperatures that now regularly exceed 40°C in parts of the country. The surge in demand has put pressure on the national grid and on household budgets, particularly for lower-income families.

For Emilia-Romagna, the poll's findings carry particular weight. The region's humid continental climate brings hot, muggy summers, and its cities — Bologna, Modena, Parma — were built centuries before air conditioning existed. The region's dense urban fabric, with its brick and stone buildings, retains heat efficiently, making indoor temperatures uncomfortable for many residents during prolonged heatwaves.

The region is also home to a significant manufacturing base for heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment, part of the broader mechanical engineering sector that anchors the local economy. Companies in the province of Modena and Bologna produce components and systems that are exported across Europe, meaning the continent's growing appetite for cooling is also an economic opportunity for the region's factories.

Environmental campaigners, cited by the Guardian, warn that a wholesale shift to air conditioning would be self-defeating, as the energy demand would drive up emissions and exacerbate the very warming that makes cooling necessary. They advocate for a combination of better building insulation, green urban spaces and more efficient cooling technologies.

The survey's timing is significant, coming as European Union member states, including Italy, debate energy policy and the pace of the green transition. The findings suggest that political leaders face a delicate balancing act: meeting the immediate needs of citizens sweltering in record heat while maintaining commitments to cut carbon emissions and meet climate targets.

For now, the immediate reality is one of rising demand. As the Guardian's report makes clear, the poll reflects a pragmatic public mood, one that prioritises tangible relief over abstract climate goals. Whether that mood translates into policy change remains to be seen, but the direction is one that Emilia-Romagna's engineers and manufacturers are well positioned to serve.