Europe’s cooling energy demand skyrockets

The data indicates an alarming trend, particularly as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reports that Western Europe experienced its hottest June-July period on record this year, with five separate heatwaves also recorded between May and August 2026.

Aside from increasing the risk of fires, the heat had a devastating impact on ecosystems, agriculture, river levels, transport and energy. The International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) says the use of air conditioning is also spreading in the EU as a result of heat extremes.

In 2018, Eurostat recorded that the energy consumption for cooling houses in Europe reached 40.5 thousand TJ. In the 2024 data, it reached 80.4 thousand TJ – nearly doubling the figure.

The IIR reports Italy showed the most significant increase in quantity, with an additional 17,305TJ of cooling-related energy demand between 2018 and 2024. However, Austria’s energy use for space cooling grew the fastest (by over a 1,000%) from 22TJ to 253TJ between 2018 and 2024.

As average and maximum temperatures continue to rise due to climate change, the IIR says air conditioning increasingly becomes vital to maintain labour productivity and safeguard human health.

In fact, in the The Role of Refrigeration in the Global Economy 3^rd edition, 60^th IIR Technical Brief on Refrigeration Technologies, the IIR projects that the stock of air conditioners will double in Europe by 2050.

Feature image courtesy of Michael from Pixabay.

---