A new program in Barcelona is giving public school students a cooler way to learn, and it's all thanks to tourists, reported CBS News.
The Spanish city launched a project to install new air conditioning units and solar panels in its 170 public schools, funded entirely by tourism taxes. The $100 million initiative will help students stay focused during increasingly hot school days.
"It's very hard," says Mia, an 11-year-old student who struggled to concentrate in the heat before her school got air conditioning this year.
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Definitely 👍 Her classmate Theo adds, "Sometimes when you're like, in the class, and you just came out playing football, it's very hot."
The program shows how cities can redirect tourism money to help residents cope with rising temperatures. Barcelona's Deputy Mayor Laia Bonet sees it as a bridge between the city's role as a tourist destination and its need to adapt to warmer weather.
"The tourist tax is what the tourists that visit our city pay when they are in a hotel or in a touristic apartment," Bonet explains. "The possibility of using these revenues, the tourism tax, for such a project is very important so that we can accept tourism in our city and the role that tourism has."
Not everyone agrees with this approach. Some residents worry about over-reliance on tourism dollars.
"The government should be doing this without depending on tourism … it's public health," says local activist Agnes Rodriguez. "If you're coming to Barcelona tonight, to Chicago or to New York, and you're staying in a tourist apartment where a family should be living, you are part of this city changing. You're affecting the life of people living there."
However, for students like Mia and Theo, the immediate benefits are clear. The new systems will replace old gas heaters with energy-efficient heat pumps, making classrooms more comfortable year-round while reducing energy use.
"I think it's the best way to link tourism to … the necessary fight against climate change," says Bonet. "It makes the difference."
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