It’s an attitude issue. Here’s what o3 says on the topic:
Using air-conditioning in Germany is legal but “socially and regulatorily expensive.” No one will fine you for cooling your flat, yet the combination of permits, energy-saving rules, consumer advice and cultural scepticism means AC is de facto discouraged.
Using air-conditioning in Switzerland isn’t illegal, but fixed systems face planning red tape, efficiency tests and social scepticism. Portable units are easy to buy, yet electricity prices and cultural norms keep usage modest.
Using air-conditioning in France is legal but socially and regulatorily “expensive.” Expect red tape when you want a fixed unit, behavioural rules (doors shut, 26 °C set-point in public offices), and mixed social signals ranging from environmental self-restraint to calls for wider cooling access as heatwaves intensify.
Using air-conditioning in the UK is perfectly legal, but planning rules, inspection obligations, cultural frugality and voluntary “close-the-door” norms make it socially and administratively expensive.
Would you please provide some references for these claims? For Germany, my assessment is the following:
The permit requirements do not seem to be against AC in particular (perplexity link), but arise from all kinds of reasons like monument protection. You may find this annoying, excessive or wrong, but if some people have a preference for conserving old buildings, that is certainly different from a “cult of pain”.
As part of policies to increase energy efficiency, you may get subsidies for installing an AC unit (depending on the use case), here is a website by Bosch explaining the cases.
Side note: In Germany, electricity is expensive; however, you can use your rooftop photovoltaics electricity for your electricity consumption including AC (which is cheaper than electricity from the grid and often coincides with times of high temperatures).
Which consumer advice speaks against AC? The Verbraucherzentrale (German “consumer advice centers”, associations that provide advisory services under a government mandate.) gives advices on what to take into account when buying an AC. They add a cost-benefit advice by noting that a fan can be much cheaper, due to high electricity prices (here, here).
I don’t see how the “Cultural scepticism” point could be verifiable, and in particular how to distinguish it from a lack of knowledge about AC units.
Paris https://machinocene.substack.com/i/167478538/paris-mandated-reduction-of-house-energy-consumption “As of 2018, in Paris, an estimated 54% of primary residences in the private sector carry an energy grade of E, F or G. Meaning owners are under great pressure to decrease their energy usage. An installed AC unit raises the assessed kWh/m²/year, which can tip a property into a lower DPE class (for example, from E to F). So, landlords avoid installing AC to protect their DPE ratings and there is even anecdotal evidence of some owners removing old AC units to improve a property’s efficiency [to escape severe consequences including not being able to rent out].”
Geneva https://machinocene.substack.com/i/167478538/geneva-bureaucratic-deterrence-of-ac-installments “Based on Art. 22B the Canton of Geneva’s energy law any fixed AC requires an exceptional permit to be installed. The law mandates that a “real need” for cooling be demonstrated and that the project is designed to minimize energy use and is integrated into the building’s overall energy concept. In practice, this means that all feasible passive cooling measures (insulation, shading, natural ventilation) must be fully implemented before an AC can be considered. Only if those measures cannot ensure a minimal summer comfort, can an AC permit be sought, and even then, an additional “proof of necessity” (e.g. a medical certificate) must be provided.”
I am personally living in Zurich. Similar problems here. Add to that that: a.) Switzerland is the country with the highest rental rate (most people do not own their flats) 2.) in the cities, it is a renter’s market (insufficient supply, landlords are choosing the tenants rather than other way round) not really putting you into a position to make demands 3.) approving an AC unit would likely require a permission from the landlord, who in turn would want it to be approved by other tenants in the same building etc. Heck, it’s hard to even get AC in the office spaces here.
Thanks. The French example sounds like a regulatory definitions problem? I do not know the motivation for the Geneva one. I do not see how this substantiates the cultural scepticism point, and there seem to be many explanations that are more likely than a “cult of pain”. Your point about Zurich demonstrates that innovations and changes in buildings are often complex due to institutions, laws and market environments.
If a “cult of pain” or a positive attitude towards suffering was the driver behind European policies, I would expect to see policy documents approving e.g. of death during heatwaves. Instead, EU documents usually emphasize this as a severe problem and a motivation to promote climate adaptation policy (see e.g. this one by the EEA).
I agree that thinking about positive-sum situations as zero-sum is bad, but one should be cautious about assuming other people’s motivations. You make the strong claim that the policies that you list as examples are motivated by a cult of pain that developed due to a moral heuristic that developed during Malthusian times. This seems strange because there are more recent developments that should have a stronger, or at least equal impression on moral intuitions, like the suffering during the industrial revolution, or carbon emissions and climate change. The “cult of pain” explanation does not seem like a straightforward explanation for what you see as irrational collective/societal behavior.
Your question about “Germans silently suffering in their overheated apartments with no air conditioning” seems to be why they have no AC units. Possible answers are: because of the typical problems in housing markets, because of imperfect regulation, because of high electricity prices, because heat waves were perceived as less of a problem a while ago. Who said he or she does not own an AC unit in order to do “repentance for the carbon footprint of their holiday in Turkey the other year”?
Of course there are people who “believe in degrowth”, but it is not a dominant attitude. The European Commission, for example, framed the European Green Deal as a “growth strategy that protects the climate”.
If you are not Scott, remember “the purpose of a system is what it does”. Someone may not say outright “I want you to feel pain”, yet may still treat people’s pain as very unimportant when implementing policy.
I won’t discuss tpoasiwid here, but I note that your claim is completely different from alleging that (1) there is a cult of pain that (2) is rooted in ethics that developed in malthusian times and (3) now drives policy choices. If everything that is relevant is tpoasiwid, then we do not need to claim anything about motivations driving policies.
“The purpose of a system is what it does” doesn’t mean that motivations don’t exist. It does mean that motivations are often illegible. If people behave as if they think suffering is important, and they say things that are roughly along those lines, looking for a smoking gun where someone actually goes on record as saying that in a precise way isn’t going to be very useful.
Cultural skepticism is exactly the claim of the post. So figuring out how it might be demonstrated is the point here. I’d suggest that AC usage relative to average or peak summer temperatures might be a useful proxy for relative cultural attitudes in different areas.
It’s an attitude issue. Here’s what o3 says on the topic:
Using air-conditioning in Germany is legal but “socially and regulatorily expensive.” No one will fine you for cooling your flat, yet the combination of permits, energy-saving rules, consumer advice and cultural scepticism means AC is de facto discouraged.
Using air-conditioning in Switzerland isn’t illegal, but fixed systems face planning red tape, efficiency tests and social scepticism. Portable units are easy to buy, yet electricity prices and cultural norms keep usage modest.
Using air-conditioning in France is legal but socially and regulatorily “expensive.” Expect red tape when you want a fixed unit, behavioural rules (doors shut, 26 °C set-point in public offices), and mixed social signals ranging from environmental self-restraint to calls for wider cooling access as heatwaves intensify.
Using air-conditioning in the UK is perfectly legal, but planning rules, inspection obligations, cultural frugality and voluntary “close-the-door” norms make it socially and administratively expensive.
Would you please provide some references for these claims? For Germany, my assessment is the following:
The permit requirements do not seem to be against AC in particular (perplexity link), but arise from all kinds of reasons like monument protection. You may find this annoying, excessive or wrong, but if some people have a preference for conserving old buildings, that is certainly different from a “cult of pain”.
As part of policies to increase energy efficiency, you may get subsidies for installing an AC unit (depending on the use case), here is a website by Bosch explaining the cases.
Side note: In Germany, electricity is expensive; however, you can use your rooftop photovoltaics electricity for your electricity consumption including AC (which is cheaper than electricity from the grid and often coincides with times of high temperatures).
Which consumer advice speaks against AC? The Verbraucherzentrale (German “consumer advice centers”, associations that provide advisory services under a government mandate.) gives advices on what to take into account when buying an AC. They add a cost-benefit advice by noting that a fan can be much cheaper, due to high electricity prices (here, here).
I don’t see how the “Cultural scepticism” point could be verifiable, and in particular how to distinguish it from a lack of knowledge about AC units.
Here’s a nice article from Kevin Kohler from yesteday (apparently, everyone was waiting for the heat wave to subside before writing). https://machinocene.substack.com/p/make-europe-cool-again
He gives two concrete examples:
Paris https://machinocene.substack.com/i/167478538/paris-mandated-reduction-of-house-energy-consumption “As of 2018, in Paris, an estimated 54% of primary residences in the private sector carry an energy grade of E, F or G. Meaning owners are under great pressure to decrease their energy usage. An installed AC unit raises the assessed kWh/m²/year, which can tip a property into a lower DPE class (for example, from E to F). So, landlords avoid installing AC to protect their DPE ratings and there is even anecdotal evidence of some owners removing old AC units to improve a property’s efficiency [to escape severe consequences including not being able to rent out].”
Geneva https://machinocene.substack.com/i/167478538/geneva-bureaucratic-deterrence-of-ac-installments “Based on Art. 22B the Canton of Geneva’s energy law any fixed AC requires an exceptional permit to be installed. The law mandates that a “real need” for cooling be demonstrated and that the project is designed to minimize energy use and is integrated into the building’s overall energy concept. In practice, this means that all feasible passive cooling measures (insulation, shading, natural ventilation) must be fully implemented before an AC can be considered. Only if those measures cannot ensure a minimal summer comfort, can an AC permit be sought, and even then, an additional “proof of necessity” (e.g. a medical certificate) must be provided.”
I am personally living in Zurich. Similar problems here. Add to that that: a.) Switzerland is the country with the highest rental rate (most people do not own their flats) 2.) in the cities, it is a renter’s market (insufficient supply, landlords are choosing the tenants rather than other way round) not really putting you into a position to make demands 3.) approving an AC unit would likely require a permission from the landlord, who in turn would want it to be approved by other tenants in the same building etc. Heck, it’s hard to even get AC in the office spaces here.
Thanks. The French example sounds like a regulatory definitions problem? I do not know the motivation for the Geneva one. I do not see how this substantiates the cultural scepticism point, and there seem to be many explanations that are more likely than a “cult of pain”. Your point about Zurich demonstrates that innovations and changes in buildings are often complex due to institutions, laws and market environments.
If a “cult of pain” or a positive attitude towards suffering was the driver behind European policies, I would expect to see policy documents approving e.g. of death during heatwaves. Instead, EU documents usually emphasize this as a severe problem and a motivation to promote climate adaptation policy (see e.g. this one by the EEA).
I agree that thinking about positive-sum situations as zero-sum is bad, but one should be cautious about assuming other people’s motivations. You make the strong claim that the policies that you list as examples are motivated by a cult of pain that developed due to a moral heuristic that developed during Malthusian times. This seems strange because there are more recent developments that should have a stronger, or at least equal impression on moral intuitions, like the suffering during the industrial revolution, or carbon emissions and climate change. The “cult of pain” explanation does not seem like a straightforward explanation for what you see as irrational collective/societal behavior.
Your question about “Germans silently suffering in their overheated apartments with no air conditioning” seems to be why they have no AC units. Possible answers are: because of the typical problems in housing markets, because of imperfect regulation, because of high electricity prices, because heat waves were perceived as less of a problem a while ago. Who said he or she does not own an AC unit in order to do “repentance for the carbon footprint of their holiday in Turkey the other year”?
Of course there are people who “believe in degrowth”, but it is not a dominant attitude. The European Commission, for example, framed the European Green Deal as a “growth strategy that protects the climate”.
If you are not Scott, remember “the purpose of a system is what it does”. Someone may not say outright “I want you to feel pain”, yet may still treat people’s pain as very unimportant when implementing policy.
I won’t discuss tpoasiwid here, but I note that your claim is completely different from alleging that (1) there is a cult of pain that (2) is rooted in ethics that developed in malthusian times and (3) now drives policy choices. If everything that is relevant is tpoasiwid, then we do not need to claim anything about motivations driving policies.
“The purpose of a system is what it does” doesn’t mean that motivations don’t exist. It does mean that motivations are often illegible. If people behave as if they think suffering is important, and they say things that are roughly along those lines, looking for a smoking gun where someone actually goes on record as saying that in a precise way isn’t going to be very useful.
Cultural skepticism is exactly the claim of the post. So figuring out how it might be demonstrated is the point here. I’d suggest that AC usage relative to average or peak summer temperatures might be a useful proxy for relative cultural attitudes in different areas.