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........

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