Montreal Protocol’s Kigali Amendment 10th Anniversary – IGSD Experts Available to Comment
19 August 2026 - The 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is a binding multilateral environmental agreement that has done more to protect Earth than any other agreement. During its nearly 40 years of operation, this treaty has:
- Put the ozone layer on a path to recovery by 2066 by phasing out nearly 100% of 100 ozone-depleting substances (ODSs), thereby solving the first great threat to the global atmosphere.
- Delayed warming by decades and put the world on track to avoid 2.5°C of warming by the end of the century, thereby doing more than any other agreement to help solve the second great threat from climate change.
- Kept the planet from passing irreversible climate tipping points that await between today’s effective 1.5°C and tomorrow’s 2°C, thereby avoiding resource conflicts and mass migration and making a critical contribution to peace and security.
Ten years ago, governments adopted the 2016 Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which mandates a global phasedown of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)––chemicals widely adopted as replacements for ODSs and used in air conditioners and refrigerators––which do not harm the ozone layer but are powerful GHGs that are thousands of times more potent at trapping heat than CO2. Full implementation of the Kigali Amendment is set to avoid up to 0.5°C of warming by the end of the century, making it “the single biggest bite” taken out of the climate problem to date. To date, over 170 countries have ratified the Kigali Amendment.
As we mark the 10th anniversary of the Kigali Amendment, world leaders should celebrate the legacy of the Montreal Protocol and the Kigali Amendment and ensure that the treaty can continue doing its dual job by providing a robust replenishment of the treaty’s funding mechanism and further integrating energy efficiency into air conditioners and other cooling equipment.
IGSD’s Fact Sheet on the 10th Anniversary, Montreal Protocol Is Successfully Tackling Climate Threat After Saving Ozone Layer, is available here and here.
Durwood Zaelke is the founder and president of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development. His focus is on fast mitigation strategies to protect the climate, including reducing the short-lived climate pollutants––methane, HFCs, black carbon, and tropospheric ozone. Over the past two decades, Zaelke helped craft climate policies under the Montreal Protocol and is now promoting the protocol as focused on methane mitigation at the global level.
“One treaty—the Montreal Protocol— has saved the planet, not once but twice. This remarkable agreement solved the first threat to the global atmosphere when it fixed the ozone layer. At the same time, it has helped slow warming by up to 45 years and is on course to avoid 2.5 degrees Celsius of warming by the end of the century, including 0.5 degrees Celsius from reducing HFCs under the Kigali Amendment. This is because the same chemical pollutants that destroy ozone also cause warming. We need to celebrate the Kigali Amendment, to motivate all parties to continue strengthening their treaty so it will continue its planet-saving work. We also need to hold it up as inspiration for other binding sectoral agreements, starting with a methane agreement for the oil and gas sector.”
Romina Picolotti is the President and founder of the Center for Human Rights and Environment (CEDHA). She is also the Director of Climate Policy at the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development. Before IGSD, Romina served as Environment Minister of Argentina (2006–2008), during which time she crafted and introduced numerous initiatives to uphold environmental laws and regulations, including her work passing the 2007 adjustment to the Montreal Protocol to accelerate the phaseout of HCFCs.
“As heatwaves intensify, the challenge is: how do we keep people cool on a warming planet without causing even more warming and breaking family and industry budgets with soaring energy bills? The Kigali Amendment has helped deliver the answer by expanding access to efficient, sustainable cooling that protects health, strengthens energy security, and supports prosperity. Ten years ago, the world agreed to a mandatory phase-down of HFCs—powerful greenhouse gases used in cooling—that can avoid up to 0.5°C of warming. By pairing that phase-down with major gains in appliance energy efficiency, we can nearly double the climate benefits, lower energy bills, and inspire the next great act of international cooperation: binding action to stop the waste of methane gas to address near-term warming.”
Dr. Stephen O. Andersen is the Director of Research at IGSD, where he focuses on climate and ozone layer protection. For over two decades, Dr. Andersen worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), serving as Deputy Director of the Stratospheric Protection Division, Director of Strategic Climate Projects in the Climate Protection Partnerships Division, and Liaison to the US Department of Defense on Stratospheric Ozone and Climate. Dr. Andersen founded and co-chaired the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) and its Solvents Technical Options Committee, the Methyl Bromide Interim Technology and Economic Assessment, and Task Force on the Implications to the Montreal Protocol of the Inclusion of hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons in the Kyoto Protocol.
"The Montreal Protocol is widely considered the most successful environmental treaty with universal ratification, full compliance, 99% of 100 ozone-depleting chemical substances (ODSs) phased out from production and consumption, atmospheric abundance of chlorine and bromine decreasing, and the ozone layer on the path to recovery. It is time we celebrate successful stratospheric ozone protection and pivot to a lessons-learned agreement on methane using the finance and industry cooperation built on the Montreal Protocol foundation of economic, environmental, scientific, and technical assessment."
Dr. Gabrielle Dreyfus is Chief Scientist at the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development. She is a climate scientist and policy expert working with government, civil society, and academia to advance international climate and clean energy policy. Dr. Dreyfus is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. She is a member of the Climate & Clean Air Coalition’s Scientific Advisory Panel and a task force member with the Montreal Protocol’s Technology and Economic Assessment Panel. She has previously served on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on the Development of a Framework for Evaluating Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions Information for Decision Making, contributed as an expert reviewer to the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report and led the 2020 UNEP and IEA Cooling Synthesis Report.
“In today’s warming world, we face a cooling challenge: we are becoming increasingly reliant on cooling technologies to keep our homes and workplaces livable, our food fresh, and our medicines safe. As we celebrate ten years of the Kigali Amendment, we are seeing how governments, industry and civil society working together can provide the policy direction and enabling funding to shift towards cooling technologies that are both more energy efficient and friendlier for the climate.”
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