Europeans Discover Simple Luxury As They Descend On US For World Cup

European soccer fans have descended on the United States for the World Cup in recent weeks, and many are discovering a simple American luxury that remains frustratingly elusive back home: reliable air conditioning.

In packed stadiums and hotels from coast to coast, they enjoy cool, comfortable environments even as temperatures climb. In Europe, by contrast, governments steeped in net-zero dogma continue to treat air conditioning as an environmental sin rather than the century-old, life-saving technology it is.

Recent heatwaves have highlighted the human cost. In France, temperatures soared above 40°C (104°F) in June, prompting thousands of Parisians to seek relief by jumping into the city’s canals and rivers. The result? At least 40 drownings in just a few days, many tied directly to the desperate search for cooling.

This follows the grim pattern of recent European summers, where heat-related deaths have repeatedly hit 50,000 to 68,000 in single seasons across the continent.

Climate advocate Bjorn Lomborg, Energy analyst Roger Pielke Jr. and others have highlighted studies which quantify the avoidable tragedy. Europe maintains the highest per-capita heat-death rate among wealthy regions despite fewer extremely hot days by latitude.

Air conditioning penetration sits at roughly 19% continent-wide — compared to 76% in North America and over 90% in the United States and Japan. If Europe simply matched U.S. levels of adoption, an estimated 26,000 heat deaths could be prevented in a hot summer like 2022. Near-universal coverage could save even more.