Right, Fortune, Europe’s Heat Crisis Is of Its Own Making
By
H. Sterling Burnett
July 7, 2026
Fortune magazine published an article explaining that Europe’s own policies have created the overheating problems being faced during the present heatwave, noting that by comparison the United States has dealt with similar heat easily over the decades. Fortune is right, Europe’s persistent rejection and America’s widespread adoption of air conditioning, not climate change, is the difference between the suffering many Europeans are experiencing during the present heat wave as compared to the relative comfort most Americans experience every summer. Air conditioning doesn’t cause climate change but it does save lives.
In the article “Top climate tech exec: Europe is sweating through a heat crisis America solved decades ago,” Taco Engelaar describes the different responses and outcomes between Europe and America during periods of extended extremely hot temperatures. Engelaar writes:
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.
https://climaterealism.com/2026/07/right-fortune-europes-heat-crisis-is-of-its-own-making/
