Picture two summer mornings. In the U.S., you wake from a solid night’s sleep in a cool room and head to a workplace set to an easy, focused temperature. Unless you step outside at lunch, the heat barely touches you. In much of Europe, the same day starts with a restless night, sticky sheets, and a dreaded commute. Trains slow in the heat, crowded platforms simmer, and working from home means a fan pushing warm air around the room. The difference? Air conditioning. Around 90% of U.S. households have it. Europe averages just 20%, and in places like the UK it’s under 5%. What can sound like internet banter actually shows up in productivity when temperatures rise.

Europe’s productivity gap with the U.S., widened since the pandemic, isn’t only about policy, labor rules, or tech ecosystems—it’s also about climate, and who can function through extreme heat. Europe is the fastest-warming continent. In countries where AC is rare, heat waves shut schools, disrupt businesses, and reduce people’s capacity to think and work. Employers shift hours to protect staff. Caregivers juggle safety for children and the elderly. Tourism strains too: as heat waves strike more often—especially in Southern Europe—travelers increasingly look for cooler destinations. For Mediterranean economies reliant on visitors, that’s an existential threat. As temperatures rise, heat risk becomes a growing liability for growth and competitiveness.

Public demand for cooling is getting louder. In the UK, searches for homes with AC are surging, and units are turning into middle-class status symbols. In France, politicians are touting a “grand plan for air conditioning.” Copy the U.S. and roll out AC everywhere? Tempting—but the grid can’t handle it. Air conditioning is electricity-intensive, and many European power systems aren’t ready for a rapid shift. Italy offered a preview this summer: a heat-wave-driven spike in AC demand triggered blackouts. Grids are already strained by resilience upgrades and long queues of clean energy projects waiting to connect. Older, poorly insulated buildings, tighter planning rules, and a renter-heavy housing market make installation harder still.

The result is a trap: hotter nights and sluggish days risk becoming the new European summer. Escaping it—and unlocking the productivity that cooled environments enable—requires smarter infrastructure and more investment. The path forward starts with precision, not guesswork. Use advanced modeling and AI to pinpoint weak spots in the grid, track how demand is shifting, and identify small, targeted upgrades that deliver outsized gains. Simulate future heat scenarios to stress-test energy networks before crises hit or capacity is expanded. Focused, data-driven planning can ensure that spending on cooling—and the systems behind it—actually pays off.