Paris uses the Seine to cool the city instead of the air conditioning.

The plan was drawn up

Raphaëlle Nayral, secretary general of Fraîcheur de Paris, inspects an urban underground cooling power station in Paris. Photograph: Christian Hartmann/ReutersCity intends to triple the underground pipeline system that distributes the cold water of the river, reducing the need for individual cooling units. By Jesse Chase-LubitzFri 26 June 2026 06.00 CESTSsharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleAs heatwaves intensify across Europe, most suburban cities are trying to get a known solution to more air conditioning.

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The plan was drawn up in the 1990s by a subsidiary of the city's electric services, Engie, which began the conceptualization and construction of one of the world's largest district heating networks to combat the effect of urban heat island and improve energy efficiency. In 2022, with the help of the Paris city government, the Fraîcheur de Paris company, which as the expert owner of Paris, took over the experience and began a multi-year contract to expand the city's existing heating infrastructure for 20 years, according to an existing energy heating company and a 20-year-old company that operates a company's heating solution and a 20-year-old company that continues to develop an energy heating and heating network, and to develop a 20-year-old energy network that continues to grow.

The plan is to triple the size of the network by 2042, extending to all

The plan is to triple the size of the network by 2042, extending to all districts and reaching over 3,000 buildings, including critical infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, day centers and retirement homes. Tim Guigon, a spokesman for Fraîcheur de Paris, said: ?? Not all [Paris' buildings] have the same cooling needs, nor are they all suitable to be connected to the grid. The figure of 3,000... reflects a realistic development trajectory. The ambition is to move from a historic grid on the third axis to an infrastructure between cities. ?? The cooling in neighbourhoodsEmployee would work on the entire urban grid and the operating system would be less efficient.