{"id":349937,"date":"2025-08-16T20:03:42","date_gmt":"2025-08-16T20:03:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/349937\/"},"modified":"2025-08-16T20:03:42","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T20:03:42","slug":"in-france-sweltering-is-a-climate-virtue-world-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/349937\/","title":{"rendered":"In France, Sweltering Is a Climate Virtue | World News"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Most of France has been sweltering under a heat wave this week, so naturally air conditioning has become the latest flash point in climate politics. The climate scolds want to prod the public into adopting what they call \u201cenergy sobriety,\u201d and the French are discovering that in practice this means less AC.<\/p>\n

\"(FILES) PREMIUM (FILES) The sun in Paris on July 1 <\/p>\n

This summer the French government suggested<\/a> air conditioning should be used mainly by those \u201cwho are very sensitive to heat (elderly people, etc.),\u201d or who can\u2019t open the window at night because it\u2019s too loud outside. The advisory urges the rest of the public to opt for a fan instead, draw the blinds, and limit heat emissions from ovens, computers and game consoles.<\/p>\n

The government added that if you must use AC, don\u2019t set it below 78 degrees Fahrenheit, and air condition only one room. While it may be \u201ctempting to set your air conditioning to a very cool temperature to cool down quickly,\u201d the French state said that\u2019s a green faux pas that \u201cresults in excess electricity consumption.\u201d<\/p>\n

That suggestion may become a mandate. The European Union has issued a goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and this year France issued one of its periodic plans<\/a> for getting there. The report envisions \u201cintelligent building control systems\u201d that ensure nobody\u2019s setting the temperature lower than authorities want.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the French Education Ministry has promoted a \u201cpassive thermal comfort\u201d guide<\/a> for schools that includes encouraging children to \u201cwet their skin\u201d to cope with the heat, among other palliatives.<\/p>\n

The real cold splash of water is the public\u2019s realization that climate obsessions come at a cost, and they\u2019ll be the saps sweating under its burden. Marine Le Pen of the insurgent-right National Rally said this summer that she\u2019d support an air-conditioning equipment initiative for the French. She\u2019s right to see a hot political opportunity.<\/p>\n

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