Italy Uses the Most Cooling Energy in the EU

Key Takeaways

• Italy used more energy on cooling than any other EU country in 2024. It reached 26,266 terajoules.
• Italy combines the EU’s 3rd-largest population with a hot climate. Cooling degree days measure how much a year’s heat drives cooling demand. Italy’s total reached 365 in 2024, the EU’s 4th-highest.
• Cyprus, Croatia, and Malta rank far higher for cooling energy use than their small populations would predict. All three post some of the EU’s highest cooling degree days.
• Population size sets the baseline for the EU’s cooling energy ranking. Climate decides almost every exception to it.

Cooling Energy Use in EU Countries

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Italy used more energy on cooling than any other EU country in 2024. It reached 26,266 terajoules.

Two things explain the lead: a large population and a hot climate.

Population and climate have nothing to do with each other. A country’s population does not determine how hot it gets.

But each one separately pushes cooling energy use higher. More people means more homes running cooling equipment. More heat means each home runs it more often.

Cooling degree days measure how much hot weather a country had in a year. Each day that averages 24°C or higher adds to the yearly total.

The hotter the day, the more it adds. A day below that threshold adds nothing.

A high yearly total means many hot days in a row. Homes need more cooling as a result.

More cooling need means more energy spent on air conditioning and other cooling equipment.

Italy’s cooling degree days reached 365 in 2024. That is the EU’s 4th-highest total. Only Cyprus, Malta, and Greece post more.

Moreover, Italy also has the EU’s 3rd-largest population.

Most and Least Populated Countries in Europe ->

Spain follows the same pattern:

• Population: 4th-largest in the EU
• Cooling degree days: 7th-highest in the EU
• Cooling energy use: 2nd-highest in the EU

Germany breaks the pattern. It is the EU’s most populous country.

Germany’s climate runs cooler than most of the EU. Its cooling degree days rank 11th-lowest among the 27 member states.

A large population only raises cooling energy use when there is enough heat to need cooling in the first place. Germany does not have that heat.

That leaves Germany in only 5th place for cooling energy use.

Greece, Cyprus, Croatia, and Malta Use Far More Cooling Energy Than Their Populations Suggest

Greece shows the widest gap between size and use of any major consumer.

It ranks just 12th by population. It still ranks 3rd for cooling energy use.

Greece’s cooling degree days reached 538 in 2024. That is the EU’s 3rd-highest total.

That much heat pushes cooling energy use higher. 

Cyprus, Croatia, and Malta take the same effect even further:

• Cyprus: the EU’s 3rd-least populous country, 6th-highest for cooling energy use
• Croatia: the EU’s 20th most populous country, 7th-highest for cooling energy use
• Malta: the EU’s least populous country, 14th-highest for cooling energy use

All four countries post some of the EU’s highest cooling degree days. Extreme heat outweighs a small population entirely.

Poland and Sweden Report No Cooling Energy Use Despite Large Populations

Poland ranks 5th and Sweden 11th by EU population. Both reported no measurable cooling energy use in 2024.

Poland and Sweden also post some of the EU’s lowest cooling degree days. A cold climate cancels out a large population.

The population to cooling degree pattern runs in reverse.

Population size sets the baseline for the EU’s cooling energy ranking. Climate decides almost every exception to it.