BRUSSELS, September 17, 2026 – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen used yesterday’s State of the Union address to announce new measures aimed at preparing Europe for increasingly severe heatwaves and extreme weather, including a European Heatwave Plan, stronger early-warning and preparedness systems, and a Climate Insurance Alliance.
The Consumer Choice Center welcomes the increased attention to heat resilience but urges the Commission to complement long-term plans with immediate measures to protect consumers from extreme heat.
“Europeans do not need to wait years for new strategies to be able to cool their own homes,” said Zoltán Kész, Government Affairs Manager at the Consumer Choice Center. “President von der Leyen is right to put heatwaves high on the European agenda. But while Brussels designs long-term adaptation plans, millions of consumers still face unnecessary regulatory barriers when they want to install an air conditioner.”
Air-conditioning penetration in the EU remains at around 19%, compared with roughly 90% in the United States and 91% in Japan. In 2024, more than 62,700 people in Europe died from heat-related causes. Yet consumers seeking to install cooling equipment can still face hurdles such as heritage restrictions, facade rules, requirements for neighbor approval, noise ordinances, and long municipal procedures.
As the Consumer Choice Center argues in its analysis of President von der Leyen’s heatwave proposals, Europe’s broader climate-adaptation agenda should therefore be accompanied by a short-term strategy focused on measures providing relief before major legislative packages and urban adaptation projects are completed.
The Consumer Choice Center is calling on the European Commission and national governments to remove barriers to residential cooling, ease approval procedures, and encourage innovation in quieter, less intrusive cooling technologies.
“Heat resilience cannot only mean plans for what Europe will build five or ten years from now,” Kész said. “It must also mean giving people practical choices now. If a household wants to invest in safe, modern cooling, regulation should make that easier, not stand in the way.”
The Commission now has an opportunity to make consumer access to cooling a practical part of Europe’s heatwave response. Long-term adaptation of buildings and cities will remain necessary, but simplifying access to cooling can provide households with protection much sooner.