France: Expert urges long-term climate adaptation as extreme heat scorches Europe.

Shotlist Paris, France - Recent 1. Local residents 2. Cooling mist sprayers working 3. Various of street scene, pedestrians, sign of "M" 3. Running metro train 4. Various of passengers cooling themselves with fans in carriage Tempe, Arizona, USA - July 1, 2026 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Michael K. Dorsey, professor, Arizona State University: "It's about 20 percent of EU homes have air conditioning versus about 90 percent in the United States. And really, this crisis of the extreme heat that we're seeing this summer, and also in past summers and we will continue to see, is really a kind of a heat mountain that the EU was never designed to climb. We've seen, just in the past four years, over 200,000 deaths from extreme heat, and many, many more millions affected both physically and mentally. Heat really is an inequality multiplier. We see, in Europe in particular, about two-thirds of households can't afford the AC improvements. About 50 percent of folks that are renting in the EU can't afford those AC units and so forth. So right now, tackling this heat crisis is really a mark of functioning government. Can we keep the rail system working? Can we keep hospitals and schools open right now in this summer? The question is still open and for some communities the answer is no. At the EU-wide or system-wide level, the emphasis is absolutely not on air-conditioning-only approach, and indeed that's not an approach that's going to be viable in the short or even the long run. We've got to get out ahead in changing regulations; we've got to get out ahead in doing what the EU is pretty pushing: passive design, innovation, renovation, and then emphasizing things like urban resilience to tackle what's going to get worse and worse and worse as the climate crisis is unfolding upon us." SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE Brussels, Belgium - June 30, 2026 6. Various of home appliances on display; customers; shelves for portable air conditioners, cooling fans Madrid, Spain - June 24, 2026 7. Pedestrians 8. People killing time at tables in outdoor canteen 9. Various of people walking, carrying bottle of water in plastic bag Madrid, Spain - June 30, 2026 10. Board on bus showing temperature of 41 degrees Celsius 11. Various of street scene, pedestrians 12. Various of residents seated on bench, holding umbrella 13. Traffic SHOTS OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE Slubice, Poland - June 28, 2026 14. Various of local people cooling off at street fountain Storyline As Europe endures another deadly heatwave, a U.S. climate policy expert has called for governments to accelerate long-term adaptation measures, warning that the region's infrastructure and housing are ill-equipped to cope with increasingly frequent extreme heat. Europe's latest heatwave has exposed the continent's vulnerability to rising temperatures, highlighting the need for structural reforms beyond expanding air conditioning, according to Michael K. Dorsey, professor with the Arizona State University. Speaking in an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), he said governments should focus on improving building standards, promoting passive cooling, renovating existing infrastructure and strengthening urban resilience. He added that such measures offer a more sustainable response than relying on air conditioning as climate change drives more frequent and intense heatwaves. "It's about 20 percent of EU homes have air conditioning versus about 90 percent in the United States. And really, this crisis of the extreme heat that we're seeing this summer, and also in past summers and we will continue to see, is really a kind of a heat mountain that the EU was never designed to climb. We've seen, just in the past four years, over 200,000 deaths from extreme heat, and many, many more millions affected both physically and mentally," he said. "Heat really is an inequality multiplier. We see, in Europe in particular, about two-thirds of households can't afford the AC improvements. About 50 percent of folks that are renting in the EU can't afford those AC units and so forth. So right now, tackling this heat crisis is really a mark of functioning government. Can we keep the rail system working? Can we keep hospitals and schools open right now in this summer? The question is still open and for some communities the answer is no. At the EU-wide or system-wide level, the emphasis is absolutely not on air-conditioning-only approach, and indeed that's not an approach that's going to be viable in the short or even the long run. We've got to get out ahead in changing regulations; we've got to get out ahead in doing what the EU is pretty pushing: passive design, innovation, renovation, and then emphasizing things like urban resilience to tackle what's going to get worse and worse and worse as the climate crisis is unfolding upon us," he said. More than 1,300 excess deaths h