Follow the money: Europe’s air-con economy

With Europe sweltering in intense heat and demand for air-conditioners soaring, who is making money from supplying them? We follow the supply chain from a factory churning out air-con units in China to retailers across Europe scrambling to secure stock as demand surges. In France, where repeated heat waves have driven sales higher, shoppers have been fighting in supermarkets to get hold of them.

We also examine the cost of powering air-conditioners and the impact their growing use is having on energy prices. How much pressure is Europe's growing appetite for air-conditioning putting on electricity grids?

(Photo: People cool off in the Trocadero fountain by the Eiffel Tower in Paris during a heatwave in June 2026. Credit: Yoan Valat/EPA/Shutterstock)

Presenter: Sam Fenwick

Producer: Gideon Long