Brutal summer heat wave has Europe sweating on its future

Change of lifestyle

"We haven't been in the habit …of thinking about how we stay cool in the summer," Brian Motherway, head of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Inclusive Transitions at the Paris-based International Energy Agency, told CNN.

In France, a debate "Heat wave: Should France be air-conditioned?" was recently discussed on many television channels. Even though air-conditioning companies were overwhelmed with requests during the heat wave, many people expressed concern that its widespread use in homes, industry and data centers would result in a surge in electricity demand, and further exacerbate global warming.

Zheng Kaiyun is a civil engineer who lives in Paris.

After seven years without an air conditioner, and serious consideration of whether to buy one, she eventually bought a fan. To get cool air circulating through her home she takes ice cubes from the fridge and puts them in front of the fan.

"Last week was probably the hottest, with temperatures surpassing 37 C, and the weather forecast said the temperature will again rise above 30 C next week," said Zheng. "We used to only have two or three days of weather above 37 C before, but now the heat comes earlier and more frequently."

Working in the construction industry, which is one of the major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions by sector, Zheng said her previous employer, a major construction company in France, has been using low-carbon concrete for most of its projects.

"A calculation of total carbon emissions is now included in almost all bidding for new construction projects, and lower emissions could help the bidder get the deal," she said.

That change is just one European effort to reduce carbon emissions over the past decade after the landmark Paris Agreement was adopted by 196 parties in 2015. The agreement aims to limit global warming to well below 2 C, preferably 1.5 C, compared with pre-industrial levels.

A set of policy initiatives, also known as the European Green Deal, was later adopted by the EU to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

In 2021, the EU Climate Law went into force, which made the goal in the European Green Deal legally binding, and sets the intermediate target of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030, compared with 1990 levels.

On July 2, as the continent was still gripped by this year's first heat wave, the European Commission proposed an amendment to the EU Climate Law, adding another climate target of 90 percent reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.

The amendment also allowed EU countries to use carbon credits purchased from developing nations to hit their emissions goals. Some view this as a necessary flexible measure while others consider it a step backward, calling the move a shirking of responsibilities by polluting at home while planting trees abroad to buy a clean conscience.