Europe’s struggles with air conditioning appear to have taken a hierarchical turn at European Commission headquarters in Brussels’s Berlaymont building. The building does have AC (will no one think of the planet?), but the current heat wave has proved too much for its cooling system, reaching 95 degrees on Friday (a level reached or exceeded on over a hundred days in Phoenix last year, but perhaps it’s unkind to point that out).
Staff working at the Berlaymont building received a text at midday, reading: “BERL — URGENT — Due to extreme weather conditions, forced shut down of air cooling system from floor 1 to 7 for the rest of the day.”
Strangely, the offices of the EU’s commissioners (its top bureaucrats) are based on the eighth floor and above. Ursula von der Leyen, the Commission’s president (its top bureaucrat) is based on the top floor, the 13th . Throughout all these higher floors, cooler air continued to waft.
Politico:
“It’s like feudalism,” a Commission official working on a lower level of the Berlaymont, granted anonymity to speak freely, told POLITICO on Friday, referring to the fact that upper floors housing commissioners got to keep their AC on. A second official agreed it was a “disgrace.”
A third staffer working on the 8th floor told POLITICO on Friday that even with working AC, the temperature inside was still 25.7 degrees [78 degrees Fahrenheit].
It would take a heart of stone not to laugh.
The EU Commission has been warning of the dangers posed by climate change for years, and yet . . .
Meanwhile, in France (the Wall Street Journal reports):
The French ecological transition agency said in May guidance that AC may be necessary for the elderly, chronically ill or pregnant. But if you really can’t live without it, use it in only one room of your home, and don’t set the temperature below 79 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s because AC uses too much energy and contributes to climate change.
France’s government information service, public health agency and national health insurance fund offer the following tips for keeping cool without AC: “Wet your body (at least your face and forearms) several times a day.” Wear a hat outside. Drink more water and try cold soups and other “water-rich foods to help you stay hydrated.”
Cover your windows and blinds, including with “homemade protections” made of cardboard. “Dim the electric lights” in your home, and avoid using appliances like a computer or a hair dryer that could generate heat.
The fact that almost 70 percent of French electricity is generated by nuclear power (which is associated with minimal emissions of greenhouse gasses) apparently makes no difference.
In Germany, the federal environmental minister is warning that portable AC units are “ineffective.”
The Chinese may be enjoying this rather too much.
Europe has long maintained low air conditioning adoption, with only about 20 percent of households owning AC units. Many buildings were designed primarily to retain heat for cold winters rather than facilitate cooling in summer. Strict regulations on installation, along with high energy prices and environmental standards, have compounded the challenges.
As demand surged, Chinese-made air conditioners became a popular solution in several European markets. Figures from the China Household Electrical Appliances Association show that China’s air conditioner exports to the European Union and the U.K. reached $1.39 billion from January to May in 2025, up 20.25 percent year on year, while export volume rose 20.14 percent year on year to 7.97 million units . . .
On X and other platforms, European buyers have shared positive feedback on the units’ cooling efficiency, installation practicality, and value. Swiss user @mewwts proudly showed off the Chinese Midea air conditioner he had just bought, saying he had “zero regrets.”
Net zero regrets might be a different matter.
The situation, the People’s Daily reports, has triggered lively discussion on Chinese social media:
Users contrast Europe’s situation with routine “AC freedom” at home — the widespread ability to run air conditioning comfortably in residences and public spaces.