Top climate tech exec: Europe is sweating through a heat crisis America solved decades ago

The heat is on this week. As Europe sizzles amid another record-breaking heatwave, many American states are preparing for a similar event. A double whammy of heat and humidity is set to drive temperatures over 100°F. But while both sides of the Atlantic face the heat, the reality for families and businesses could not be further apart. The difference, once again, is air conditioning. Find yourself in the U.S. this week and you’ll likely move seamlessly between air-conditioned offices, malls, and homes, barely registering the heat outside. In Europe, that same week means hunting for a desk fan or racing to one of the few public spaces with real cooling. Around 90% of U.S. homes have air conditioning; in parts of Europe, that figure is closer to 20%. While America was built to cope with high temperatures, vast areas of Europe remain woefully unprepared. To a certain extent, this makes sense. America has traditionally experienced higher temperatures and its homes and buildings were deliberately built to withstand them. Much of Europe, on the other hand, was built for a different climate entirely. The heat has been rising in Europe for years. This latest heatwave is not an isolated event — each summer brings higher temperatures and greater risks for infrastructure and public health. A year ago, I wrote about the economic cost of Europe’s cooling gap. That liability has hardened into an unavoidable threat. The heat is on, and adaptation is critical. Figures suggest Europe could be at risk of losing up to 7% of its collective GDP in the next four years due to heat-related losses. That’s separate from the even greater cost to human life. More than a thousand deaths have already been recorded from this heatwave alone. So why are we still so far behind the U.S. when it comes to protecting against extreme heat? Demand for cooling infrastructure has surged in recent months. In the U.K., widespread AC installation was a key recommendation in plans for adapting