How a French Supermarket Is Like a Pakistani Wedding

If you wonder why you are too cold at a French supermarket or too hot at a Pakistani wedding, the reason is similar.

This is the story.

Reducing Energy Consumption

According to a BBC Global News Report podcast, France and Pakistan had very different and yet similar climate policy announcements.

France

The Carrefour cashier said her hands were freezing. Shoppers were told to keep moving to stay warm. The reason? France has an Energy Sobriety Plan through which supermarket chains agreed to lower their thermostats and keep the lights dim. In addition, they are turning off illuminated signs after closing and shrinking “air renewal.” More precisely, winter store temperatures should not exceed 17 degrees (62,6 degrees F.) while, this summer, the AC minimum will be 26° C. (78.8° F.). As a result, President Macron hopes that gas and electricity use will drop by 10 percent during the next two years.

Pakistan

Also hoping to reduce an unaffordable energy consumption expense, the Pakistani government said wedding halls should close by 10 PM. In addition, their list of policies targeting less energy use included banning the production of “inefficient” fans from July onward. Corresondingly, a Pakistani official pointed out that they kept the light turned off during a recent cabinet meeting since the sunlight was sufficient.

Our Bottom Line: Climate Indicators

We could say that that supermarkets and weddings are relatively small examples of the bigger picture that my Bloomberg Green newsletter said to watch during 2023. In their climate numbers, they included rising temperatures:

And rising emissions:

However, for me, the best summary was at Climate Action Tracker:

My sources and more: During yesterday’s walk, I learned from the BBC why Carrefour is cold. Then this Local article had more of the details while here, I found out about Pakistani weddings. And finally, for more from Bloomberg Green, their newsletter had the climate indicators.