The great European air conditioning debate

It’s not even August yet, and it’s been a long, hot summer. As temperatures climb and France and Spain fight to keep wildfires contained, we’re devoting the whole of this week’s episode to one of 2026’s most contentious debates: should Europe be using more air conditioning? With help from three experts, we’re picking apart the pros and cons of artificial cooling technology – and grappling with a handful of guilty feelings along the way.

You can learn more about the wondrous upsides and significant costs of air conditioning from our guests: Eva Horn, a professor of cultural history at the University of Vienna; Diána Ürge-Vorsatz, a professor at Central European University and Vice Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; and Blanca Paniello Castillo, researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health.

Other resources for this episode:

Eva Horn’s essay in Avery Review, “Air Conditioning: Taming the Climate as a Dream of Civilization”

Eva’s book Klima: Eine Wahrnehmungsgeschichte

“Europeans should learn to love the air-conditioner” – Stanley Pignal, The Economist, 18 June 2026

“Energy demand and decarbonization in 2025 and beyond” – Diana Ürge-Vorsatz and Felix Creutzig, Nature, 20 January 2026

“Air Conditioning Has Reduced Mortality Due to High Temperatures in Spain by One Third” (PDF) – The Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), 2023

Redditer paints his Parisian roof white

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Unsung: Cleaners is a documentary podcast bringing together the voices of cleaners across Europe, telling their stories in their own words. From invisible labour and night shifts to dignity and organising for change, the five-part series explores the human stories behind one of the world’s most essential – and most overlooked – jobs: cleaning. In the first episode, Hayat Elhore, a cleaner at the European Parliament in Brussels, shares what it’s like to clean a building that symbolises democracy – while often being treated as invisible. She pulls back the curtain on a typical day in the life of a cleaner.

Co-hosts: Katy Lee and Dominic Kraemer

Senior producer: Katy Lee

Producers: Morgan Childs, Dominic Kraemer

Audio editing: Morgan Childs

Mixing and mastering: Wojciech Oleksiak and Monika Proba

Music: Jim Barne, Mariska Martina and Blue Dot Sessions

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