Air conditioning surge raises energy bills as Genoa port weighs costs

A survey published by The Guardian on Monday found that people across six major European nations, including the UK, favour encouraging the adoption of air conditioning over keeping carbon emissions down. The poll, conducted after a summer of extreme heat, also recorded sizeable majorities who believe it should be easier to install air conditioning in homes.

The findings land as Italy logs one of its hottest summers on record. The Local Italy reported the same day that air conditioning use has driven a sharp rise in Italian electricity bills, a consequence of households and businesses running cooling systems for weeks on end.

For the Liguria bureau, the energy crunch is a practical matter. The port of Genoa, a hub for container traffic and Mediterranean shipping, depends on reliable and affordable power for its cranes, cold storage and logistics operations. A spike in electricity costs adds pressure to an infrastructure network already under strain from age and heavy use.