Last week’s soaring temperatures within western Europe have led to alarm bells ringing all across the continent. The Copernicus Climate Institute, among others, has identified Europe as the fastest-warming continent on the planet, with temperatures rising more than twice the average rate. As it slowly comes to terms with more frequent extreme weather events and increasingly unpredictable patterns, European policymakers must take concrete steps and proactively insulate against the coming threat — pun intended.

Temperatures above 30°C  (and in some cases 40°C) have led to intense discussions about what the future holds for European countries not used to this very immediate change. But as always, the debate surrounding climate change has been reduced to binaries and key talking points without real substance, which leads to important policy decisions being sidelined in favour of populist narratives.

For instance, one of the core discussion points while the heatwave was ongoing was about the use of air conditioners (ACs). Those who associate themselves with right-wing politics have come out in staunch defence of ACs. Extremist perspectives on the left have termed anybody that uses ACs as part of the problem. For billionaires and the rich, this is valid criticism. But painting everyone with the same brush has several problems.

The fact that air conditioning contributes to the heating problem is no secret. But blaming individuals for dealing with the heat on their own, in the absence of any state intervention, does not help matters in any way. 

For the populists that have pointed to the lack of air conditioning in Europe as the main reason for the extreme effects of the heat this year, their arguments are anything but watertight. ACs contribute to the heat of a city through the urban heat island effect; of this there is no doubt. Apart from expelling the hot air from indoors to outdoors, the compressor required for ACs to function also uses energy and generates more heat as a result. A study by the AMS Institute in Amsterdam found that cooling systems can increase city temperatures, especially during extreme weather events.

For the air conditioning naysayers, it is important to contextualise that this fight is not one worth having.

Air conditioning has to be installed in critical infrastructure such as schools and hospitals and for people needing special care to use when needed. In any case, countries such as Spain and Italy have already seen the number of households adopting air conditioning grow to nearly half in recent times, so this whole narrative of Europe not including ACs in its fight against extreme heat falls short of the mark anyway. Even in France, which has been the centre of this whole AC vs no-AC debate, data indicates that even in Southern France, which is traditionally hotter than its northern counterpart, an estimated 60% of households already have air conditioning.

But while the bickering of whether or not households should install ACs continues, policymakers in the EU need to quickly start moving against a threat that will get more frequent, more extreme and even more unpredictable with every passing year. There are medium- and long-term decisions that European governments need to take to counter rising temperatures on the continent. Some of those policy initiatives have been around for time immemorial in warmer regions.

For starters, there is the obvious and steps are already being taken in this direction. The EU has already been transitioning towards renewable energy, and this needs to remain a core focus going forward as well. Power consumption will increase even if we assume that air conditioning will be installed in moderation to support existing and new city infrastructure in its fight against rising heat. More renewable energy means a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The expansion of green spaces and planting more trees in urban spaces will help alleviate some of the effects of the rising temperatures.

Air conditioning in public spaces can also reduce the impact of households individually trying to cool enclosed spaces that only benefit a few. This past week in Amsterdam, private supermarkets in the city tried a new pilot project to invite residents of the area to come and spend time in the local (air-conditioned) supermarkets. They set up chairs for people to rest, alongside offering free refreshments. The city also invited residents to spend time in some of the churches if they needed a place to cool off. Innovative ideas like this can help in small spurts as well.

Houses and buildings in cities such as Paris, Amsterdam, London and many others were designed to keep heat in, not out. They must now be adapted to stave off extreme summers. Improved and more efficient insulation, better cross-ventilation, and exterior shutters are just some examples of what can be done to keep heat out of households. A few degrees can make a very significant difference. 

There is a lot that needs to be discussed and done while we are getting bogged down by semantics. European governments have done well in the past to look out for the welfare of their populations, but in the face of extreme heat, their ability to proactively tackle the climate crisis will be the true test of whether states can rapidly counteract changing weather systems.