Politics of air conditioning

There is a political controversy about air conditioning, especially in South Asia partly due to the cost to poor people of electricity and buying the units and to poor governments of upgrading electrical grids.[1] There have been protests against power cuts in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.[2]

Europe is getting hotter faster than other continents,[3] and in the 2020s Europe suffered many deaths due to the lack of air conditioning: less than a quarter of households had it.[4] Air conditioning is an important part of adapting to climate change.[5]

In the United States, where air conditioning is widely adopted, political energy revolves around inequality in who has access to air conditioning. Air conditioning is also viewed as a necessity in Southeast Asia. But as green policies move forward, local discussions are now focusing on how to set the right temperature and exactly when or how many people are needed to turn it on.[6][7] Meanwhile, in Northeast Asian countries with four distinct seasons, newer HVAC technology that generates heat in winter and functions as air conditioning in summer have drawn significant attention. While governments claim it is necessary to phase out inefficient cooling units and kerosene heaters, whether society can bear the costs of mandatory upgrades for environmental causes has also become a focal point of public debate.[8][9]

Background

This section is an excerpt from Air conditioning § Social and cultural effects.[edit]

Socioeconomic groups with an annual household income below around $10,000 (circa 2021) tend to have a low rate of air conditioning adoption,[10] which worsens heat-related mortality.[11] The lack of cooling can be hazardous, as areas with lower use of air conditioning correlate with higher rates of heat-related mortality and hospitalizations.[12] Premature mortality in New York City is projected to grow by between 47% and 95% in 30 years, with lower-income and vulnerable populations most at risk.[12] Studies on the correlation between heat-related mortality and hospitalizations and living in low socioeconomic locations can be traced in Phoenix, Arizona;[13] Hong Kong;[14] China;[14] Japan;[15] and Italy.[16][17] Costs of health care can act as another barrier: the lack of private health insurance during a 2009 heat wave in Australia was associated with heat-related hospitalization.[17]

Disparities in socioeconomic status and access to air conditioning are connected by some to institutionalized racism, which leads to the association of specific marginalized communities with lower economic status, poorer health, residing in hotter neighborhoods, engaging in physically demanding labor, and experiencing limited access to cooling technologies such as air conditioning.[17] A study examining the US cities of Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, and Pittsburgh found that black households were half as likely to have central air conditioning units when compared to their white counterparts.[18] Especially in cities, redlining and other historical practices mean that racial disparities are also played out in heat islands, increasing temperatures in certain parts of the city. This is due to heat-absorbing building materials and pavements and lack of vegetation and shade coverage.[17][19] There have been initiatives that provide cooling solutions to low-income communities, such as public cooling spaces.[20][19]

Cooling has allowed for growth of indoor home space and has encouraged people, including children, to stay indoors more often.[21] It has also created uniformity of different geographical areas and climate zones.[22]

By country

India

Protesters have accused the government of favouring richer customers when supplying electricity.[23]

France

Air conditioning is rare in France.[24] As of August 2025, the only major party to explicitly support the mass adoption of air conditioning is France's right-wing populist National Rally, with leader Marine Le Pen calling on the nation to have a plan to widely adopt air conditioning in the coming years.[24]

United Kingdom

The climate of the United Kingdom is temperate, and the installation rate of home air conditioning systems had historically been low. In June 2025, the director of the Air Conditioning Company in London said that demand for portable air-conditioning units had increased by 625% compared to the previous year.[25] The homeware retail chain Robert Dyas said that from 2019 to 2024, its stores had seen a 4,000 percent increase in the sale of fans and air-conditioning units.[25]

Proponents of air conditioning in the United Kingdom include Conservative Member of Parliament Jack Rankin, who said in 2025 that it was "ridiculous that in a country facing record heat, it’s still so hard to install air con at home", and blamed "enviro-loons" and "outdated nanny state rules."[26] The Liberal Democrats say that air conditioning should be mandatory in schools and health facilities and when new houses are built.[27] In 2026 the Labour government removed VAT on electricity.[28]

Germany

Germany has a rather cool climate compared to western European countries. By 2021, only 3% of households owned air conditioning, but the market for air conditioning had grown by 8% in 2020.[29]

Traditionally, the Greens prefer passive solutions rather than air conditioning. For example in 2025 the Greens in the Karlsruhe City Council adopted a heat action plan that promoted measures of building design, shading, and ventilation,[30][31] which drew criticism from the city's Young Union, the joint youth organisation of the CDU/CSU, which argued that "Effective air conditioning instead of green heat dogmas is needed in Karlsruhe".[32] In 2026, Katharina Dröge, the co-chair of the Green Party's parliamentary group in the Bundestag, proposed a funding programme for "climate‑solar systems": air conditioning systems tied with simultaneous installation of solar cells on the roof. Dröge called this combination the "most sensible" and criticized the inertia of Friedrich Merz's government.[33] The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) touted a massive roll-out of air conditioning while still rejecting heat pumps[34] (which they call "heizhammer", the heating hammer).[35][36]

United States

As of 2020, 88% of US households had some form of air conditioning, with prevalence being highest in the Midwestern and Southern United States.[37] Within metropolitan areas, air conditioning is more prevalent in suburbs than the urban core, even though temperatures in the core tend to be elevated due to the heat island effect.[38]

In many parts of the US, state or local laws require landlords to heat rental properties above a specified minimum temperature during winter months; however, relatively few jurisdictions have corresponding laws to cool properties below a maximum temperature during summer months.[39][40] Moreover, some landlords entirely ban air conditioning from their rental properties, although some municipalities have passed laws to forbid this.[39][40]

During the 2026 North American heat wave, New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that "The best protection against extreme heat is air conditioning", and activated air conditioned cooling centres in the city.[41] Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, advised residents to keep air conditioners set to no lower than 26 °C (78 °F).[42] Conservative politicians in the US states of Kentucky and Florida declared it evidence of communism; another charged Mamdani with waging "war against women in menopause".[42] Journalists claimed that similar thermostat recommendations had been published by conservative-led US state governments, and also the Trump government, which did not respond to press inquiries on the matter and deleted the recommendation.[42]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The geopolitics of air-conditioning". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 27 July 2026. ..... electricity firms, which are mostly state-owned in places like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, sink deeper into debt when they make loss-making spot purchases in response to spikes in electricity demand. ....... In poor countries, most of which are in hot climates, the politics of ac will get a lot stickier. Both their populations and their governments face formidable budget constraints when adopting cooling technology: ac units are expensive, energy is often expensive, and upgrading grids is expensive.
  2. ↑ "The geopolitics of air-conditioning". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 27 July 2026. .... in cities across Pakistan and Bangladesh, protesters blocked roads and surrounded electricity offices during weeks of power cuts in temperatures as hot as 45°C. ... In May power cuts during a heatwave in India led to similar protests in some rural villages, ...
  3. ↑ E; l; e; a; n; o; r; B; e (25 July 2026). "The cooling crisis: How climate change forced air conditioning onto France's agenda". NPR. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  4. ↑ "The geopolitics of air-conditioning". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 27 July 2026. ... many deaths are from the lack of ac. The International Energy Agency notes that just 23% of European households have an ac unit.
  5. ↑ Spain, S. M. C. (11 June 2026). "Air conditioning and climate change: necessary or incompatible?". Science Media Centre. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  6. ↑ "Singapore dials down on air-con as oil crunch grips Asia". www.bbc.com. 9 April 2026. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  7. ↑ "Hong Kong helpers urge employers to relax 'air-con ban' in heatwave". South China Morning Post. 3 June 2026. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  8. ↑ Daily, Seoul Economic (2 June 2026). "Japan Faces Air Conditioner Shortage as Heat, Regulation, Supply Crunch Collide". Seoul Economic Daily. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  9. ↑ Daily, The Chosun (16 December 2025). "Climate Ministry Pushes Heat Pumps for Decarbonization". The Chosun Daily. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  10. ↑ Davis, Lucas; Gertler, Paul; Jarvis, Stephen; Wolfram, Catherine (July 2021). "Air conditioning and global inequality". Global Environmental Change. 69 102299. Bibcode:2021GEC....6902299D. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102299.
  11. ↑ Barreca, Alan; Clay, Karen; Deschenes, Olivier; Greenstone, Michael; Shapiro, Joseph S. (February 2016). "Adapting to Climate Change: The Remarkable Decline in the US Temperature-Mortality Relationship over the Twentieth Century". Journal of Political Economy. 124 (1): 105–159. doi:10.1086/684582.
  12. 1 2 Gamarro, Harold; Ortiz, Luis; González, Jorge E. (1 August 2020). "Adapting to Extreme Heat: Social, Atmospheric, and Infrastructure Impacts of Air-Conditioning in Megacities—The Case of New York City". Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Buildings and Cities. 1 (3) 031005. doi:10.1115/1.4048175. ISSN 2642-6641. S2CID 222121944.
  13. ↑ Harlan, Sharon L.; Declet-Barreto, Juan H.; Stefanov, William L.; Petitti, Diana B. (February 2013). "Neighborhood Effects on Heat Deaths: Social and Environmental Predictors of Vulnerability in Maricopa County, Arizona". Environmental Health Perspectives. 121 (2): 197–204. Bibcode:2013EnvHP.121..197H. doi:10.1289/ehp.1104625. ISSN 0091-6765. PMC 3569676. PMID 23164621.
  14. 1 2 Chan, Emily Ying Yang; Goggins, William B; Kim, Jacqueline Jakyoung; Griffiths, Sian M (April 2012). "A study of intracity variation of temperature-related mortality and socioeconomic status among the Chinese population in Hong Kong". Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 66 (4): 322–327. doi:10.1136/jech.2008.085167. ISSN 0143-005X. PMC 3292716. PMID 20974839.
  15. ↑ Ng, Chris Fook Sheng; Ueda, Kayo; Takeuchi, Ayano; Nitta, Hiroshi; Konishi, Shoko; Bagrowicz, Rinako; Watanabe, Chiho; Takami, Akinori (2014). "Sociogeographic Variation in the Effects of Heat and Cold on Daily Mortality in Japan". Journal of Epidemiology. 24 (1): 15–24. doi:10.2188/jea.JE20130051. PMC 3872520. PMID 24317342.
  16. ↑ Stafoggia, Massimo; Forastiere, Francesco; Agostini, Daniele; Biggeri, Annibale; Bisanti, Luigi; Cadum, Ennio; Caranci, Nicola; de'Donato, Francesca; De Lisio, Sara; De Maria, Moreno; Michelozzi, Paola; Miglio, Rossella; Pandolfi, Paolo; Picciotto, Sally; Rognoni, Magda (2006). "Vulnerability to Heat-Related Mortality: A Multicity, Population-Based, Case-Crossover Analysis". Epidemiology. 17 (3): 315–323. doi:10.1097/01.ede.0000208477.36665.34. ISSN 1044-3983. JSTOR 20486220. PMID 16570026. S2CID 20283342.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Gronlund, Carina J. (September 2014). "Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in Heat-Related Health Effects and Their Mechanisms: a Review". Current Epidemiology Reports. 1 (3): 165–173. doi:10.1007/s40471-014-0014-4. PMC 4264980. PMID 25512891.
  18. ↑ O'Neill, M. S. (11 May 2005). "Disparities by Race in Heat-Related Mortality in Four US Cities: The Role of Air Conditioning Prevalence". Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine. 82 (2): 191–197. doi:10.1093/jurban/jti043. PMC 3456567. PMID 15888640.
  19. 1 2 Sampson, Natalie R.; Gronlund, Carina J.; Buxton, Miatta A.; Catalano, Linda; White-Newsome, Jalonne L.; Conlon, Kathryn C.; O’Neill, Marie S.; McCormick, Sabrina; Parker, Edith A. (1 April 2013). "Staying cool in a changing climate: Reaching vulnerable populations during heat events". Global Environmental Change. 23 (2): 475–484. Bibcode:2013GEC....23..475S. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2012.12.011. ISSN 0959-3780. PMC 5784212. PMID 29375195.
  20. ↑ International Energy Agency (15 May 2018). The Future of Cooling - Opportunities for energy-efficient air conditioning (PDF) (Report). Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 June 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  21. ↑ "The trouble with air conditioning: 'Damned if you do, damned if you don't'". WBUR. 3 July 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  22. ↑ Badger, Emily (16 August 2024). "How Air-Conditioning Made Us Expect Arizona to Feel the Same as Maine". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  23. ↑ "The geopolitics of air-conditioning". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 27 July 2026. Protesters in such poor, hot countries often accuse their governments of hoarding electricity for their own buildings or for richer customers, including (in places like India) big industrial firms.
  24. 1 2 Rosman, Rebecca (21 August 2025). "In France, debate heats up over air conditioning". NPR. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  25. 1 2 Chutel, Lynsey (21 June 2025). "A Heat Wave Leaves Britons Looking for Ways to Stay Cool". New York Times.
  26. ↑ Larsen, Martin Alfonsin (13 August 2025). "Boiling Britain: How air conditioning could become a political priority in the UK". Politico.
  27. ↑ Walker, Peter (26 July 2026). "Every new UK home should have air conditioning, say Liberal Democrats". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  28. ↑ "VAT to be cut from electricity bills in October". www.bbc.com. 21 July 2026. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  29. ↑ Bethge, Philip (2 March 2021). "Klimaanlagen gegen die Erderwärmung". Der Spiegel.
  30. ↑ "Hitzeaktionsplan für Karlsruhe". Karlsruhe: Startseite.
  31. ↑ Hitzeaktionsplan der Stadt Karlsruhe (PDF). Stadt Karlsruhe – Umwelt- und Arbeitsschutz. August 2025.
  32. ↑ "Junge Union Karlsruhe fordert Klimaanlagen-Pflicht: "Effektive Klimatisierung statt grüner Hitzedogmen". ka-news. July 2026.
  33. ↑ "Grüne fordern Klimaanlagen-Sofortprogramm in öffentlichen Einrichtungen". Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. 28 June 2026.
  34. ↑ Niranjan, Ajit (5 July 2026). "From 'heat panic' to 'sacrificed at the altar': Europe's air conditioning culture wars heat up". The Guardian.
  35. ↑ Mathiesen, Karl (4 October 2023). "How the far right turned heat pumps into electoral rocket fuel". Plolitico. Germany. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
  36. ↑ Brignal, Mattie (22 February 2025). "How the humble heat pump pushed Germany to the far-Right". The Telegraph. Retrieved 6 July 2026 – via Yahoo.
  37. ↑ Nearly 90% of U.S. households used air conditioning in 2020 (Report). US Energy Information Administration. 31 May 2022.
  38. ↑ Romitti, Yasmin (2022). "Inequality in the availability of residential air conditioning across 115 US metropolitan areas". PNAS Nexus. 1 (4) pgac210. doi:10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac210. PMC 9802221. PMID 36714868.
  39. 1 2 Aronoff, Kate (22 June 2024). "When Are We Going to Protect Renters From Extreme Heat?". The New Republic.
  40. 1 2 Webb, Jill (14 September 2024). "U.S. legislators push mandates for cooling regulations in rental housing". Prism.
  41. ↑ "Mayor Mamdani Expands Emergency Heat Measures to Protect New Yorkers During Historic Holiday Weekend Heat Wave". Official Website of New York City Government. 1 July 2026. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  42. 1 2 3 "Mamdani mocked by GOP for telling New Yorkers to set thermostats to 78". The Hill.
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