Abstract

As global temperatures continue to rise, air conditioning (AC) is becoming an increasingly vital tool for households adapting to extreme heat. While AC offers immediate relief, its growing prevalence carries significant consequences for electricity consumption, social inequality, and climate change. A comprehensive global study by De Cian et al. (2025) offers new insights into this complex interplay between human adaptation and environmental impact, drawing on household-level data from 25 countries that collectively account for more than 70% of global electricity use.