Kigali Amendment
Kigali Amendment to phase down HFCs
The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase down HFCs entered into force on 1 January 2019 after the threshold for the agreement to enter into force was met on 17 November 2017, when it was ratified by 20 parties. Montreal Protocol parties continue to ratify the Amendment, which has so far been ratified by 163 parties (November 2024 total). More information is available here and the Amendment is available here or in the latest edition of the Montreal Protocol handbook.
The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol is projected to reduce future global average warming in 2100 due to HFCs from a baseline of 0.3-0.5 °C to less than 0.1 °C. According to the Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 2022 annual average surface warming from HFCs is expected to be 0.04 °C in 2100 under the updated 2022 Kigali Amendment scenario, compared to 0.3–0.5 °C without control measures. HFC emissions (excluding HFC-23) are projected to peak before around 2035 and decline to less than 1 GtCO2-eq yr−1 by 2050, similar to the emissions in 2020. Concerted efforts to improve the energy efficiency of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment could lead to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions of the same order as those from the global implementation of the Kigali Amendment. These estimated benefits of improving energy efficiency are highly dependent on the greenhouse gas emission rate from power generation and the pace of decarbonization in the energy sector. Source World Meteorological Organization Global Ozone Research and Monitoring Project – Report No. 278 Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 2022 available at https://ozone.unep.org/science/assessment/sap.
Kigali Amendment: Phase-down schedule for HFCs in Article 5 and non-Article 5 parties
| Baseline and phase-down as CO2e | A5 parties (developing countries) – Group 1 | A5 parties (developing countries) – Group 2 | Non-A5 parties (developed countries) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline formula | Average HFC consumption for 2020-2022 + 65% of HCFC baseline | Average HFC consumption for 2024-2026 + 65% of HCFC baseline | Average HFC consumption for 2011-2013 + 15% of HCFC baseline* |
| Freeze | 2024 | 2028 | – |
| 1st step | 2029 – 10% | 2032 – 10% | 2019 – 10% |
| 2nd step | 2035 – 30% | 2037 – 20% | 2024 – 40% |
| 3rd step | 2040 – 50% | 2042 – 30% | 2029 – 70% |
| 4th step | – | – | 2034 – 80% |
| Plateau | 2045 – 80% | 2047 – 85% | 2036 – 85% |
Notes:
* For Belarus, Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, 25% HCFC component of baseline and different initial two steps (1) 5% reduction in 2020 and (2) 35% reduction in 2025
1. Group 1: Article 5 parties not part of Group 2
2. Group 2: Countries with High Ambient Temperatures (HAT): Bahrain, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
3. Technology review in 2022 and every five years
4. Technology review four to five years before 2028 to consider the compliance deferral of two years from the freeze of 2028 of Article 5 Group 2 to address growth in relevant sectors above certain threshold.
Key features of the Kigali Amendment
- The HFC phase-down involves a three-step approach, taking into account different situations for various groups of countries (see phase-down schedule table).
- Requirement to destroy HFC-23, from 1 January 2020, produced during the manufacture of HCFCs or HFCs to the extent practicable using technology approved by the Parties in the same twelve-month period. Reported HFC-23 emissions are available on the ozone secretariat website https://ozone.unep.org/hfc-23-emissions. Two reports have been published in 2024 related to sources and estimated emissions of HFC-23:
- SAP September 2024: Report of the Scientific Assessment Panel in response to Decision XXXV/7: Emissions of HFC-23 available at https://ozone.unep.org/system/files/documents/SAP_Report_on_HFC23_September2024.pdf and
- TEAP September 2024: Response to decision XXXV/7: Emissions of HFC-23 (volume 5) available at https://ozone.unep.org/system/files/documents/TEAP-reponse-to-decision-XXXV-7-report-september-2024.pdf
- The SAP HFC-23 report states that from 2019 to 2022, the global mean atmospheric abundance of hydrofluorocarbon-23 (HFC-23; CHF3) increased at Earth’s surface by 1.13 ppt/yr. This rate of increase was 6% slower than the 1.20 ppt/yr observed during 2016-2020. Global emissions of HFC-23 estimated from measured atmospheric abundances have steadily decreased from a high of 17.3 +/- 0.8 kt in 2019 (254 MMTCO2e) to 13.9 +/- 0.7 kt in 2022 (204 MMTCO2e) in 2022. This decrease in emissions was observed despite an increase in total production of hydrochlorofluorocarbon-22 (HCFC-22; CHF2Cl) reported for all uses from 2019 to 2022, noting that the principal source of HFC-23 is as a by-product from HCFC-22 production. The decline in global HFC-23 emissions while HCFC-22 production was increasing may reflect increased mitigation of HFC-23 emissions as an increasing number of parties ratified the 2016 Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.
- Licensing for the import and export of new, used, recycled and reclaimed HFCs.
- AR4 GWPs (100 year) have been listed for CFCs, HCFCs and HFCs.
- Other decisions: Standards: Parties are expected to work towards ensuring global industry standards enable the safe introduction of low-GWP alternatives to HFCs. Energy Efficiency: Parties are expected to agree a way forward to maximize energy efficiency in the transition out of HFCs.
- HFOs and HCFOs are not included in the Kigali Amendment
The EU F-gas Regulation and the Kigali Amendment
EU HFC consumption was thus at approximately 43 % of the 2023 limit for the EU-27 under the Montreal Protocol’s Kigali Amendment. See Fluorinated greenhouse gases 2024 Data reported by companies on the production, import, export and destruction of fluorinated greenhouse gases in the European Union, 2007-2023 which covers the period where previous F-gas Regulations were in force. The F-gas report ETC CM Report 2024/05 is available at https://www.eionet.europa.eu/etcs/etc-cm/products/etc-cm-report-2024-05
F-gas Regulation 2024/573 in recital 6 states “It is important that this Regulation ensures that the Union comply with its international obligations under the Kigali Amendment in the long term, in particular, with regard to the reduction of consumption and production of HFCs, and to reporting and licensing requirements, in particular by introducing a phase-down for production and adding reduction steps for the placing on the market of HFCs after 2030.”