# Kigali Amendment

The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol is an international agreement to gradually reduce the consumption and production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). It is a legally binding agreement designed to create rights and obligations in international law.
The Montreal Protocol was originally created to preserve and restore the ozone layer; participating countries agreed to phase out chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), gases that had been causing ozone depletion. HFCs do not contain chlorine, so they do not cause ozone depletion, and therefore have been replacing CFCs under the Protocol. However, HFCs are powerful greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change, so this amendment adds HFCs to the list of chemicals that countries promise to phase down.
As of November 4, 2024, 163 states and the European Union have ratified the Kigali Amendment.

## Background

Many industrial products, including refrigerants and other cooling services, use HFCs.
Originally, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were used in these applications, but the deleterious effect of these gases on the ozone layer was revealed in 1974 by Paul J. Crutzen, Mario Molina, and F. Sherwood Rowland. The Montreal Protocol was signed in 1987 by the 20 major CFC producers and came into effect in 1989; since 1987, all 197 member states of the United Nations, among others, have ratified the Protocol. HFCs have since largely replaced CFCs.
Although HFCs are harmless to the ozone layer, they are potent greenhouse gases. While their lifespan in the atmosphere is short (10 to 20 years) relative to carbon dioxide (CO$_2$), HFCs filter infrared waves much more powerfully. HFCs are therefore thousands of times more heat-trapping than CO$_2$, with a 100 year global warming potential (GWP) between 12 on the low end and 14,800 on the high end. For comparison, the GWP of carbon dioxide is 1. Eliminating emissions of these gases could significantly lower the effects of global warming and avoid a full 0.5 degree Celsius of warming above preindustrial levels by the end of the century.

## Details of the amendment

Article 5 of the Montreal Protocol created separate standards for developing countries and non-developing. Whether a country was categorized as developing or non-developing depended on individual economic conditions at the time of the agreement or pending special request. Because the Protocol was created in the 1980s and countries economic situations have changed, the Kigali Amendment created three updated groups for compliance with the additional terms.
The first group, which includes the "old" industrialized countries, is committed to reducing the use of HFCs by 45% by 2024 and by 85% by 2036, compared to their use between 2011 and 2013. A second group, which includes China,India and Brazil, is committed to reducing its consumption by 80% by 2045. Finally, this deadline is extended to 2047 for the rest of the countries, including India and a number of countries in the Middle East, which are large consumers of air conditioning.
In addition, parties that experience monthly average temperatures over 35 °C (95 °F) for at least two months per year, over a period of 10 consecutive years, may request a waiver. Although Denmark approved the amendment, Greenland is excluded.

## Parties

| Country | Date | Type of agreement |
| Albania | 18 January 2019 | Ratification |
| Andorra | 23 January 2019 | Acceptance |
| Angola | 16 November 2020 | Ratification |
| Argentina | 22 November 2019 | Ratification |
| Armenia | 2 May 2019 | Acceptance |
| Australia | 27 October 2017 | Acceptance |
| Austria | 27 September 2018 | Ratification |
| Bahamas | 30 May 2023 | Ratification |
| Bahrain | 1 July 2024 | Ratification |
| Bangladesh | 8 June 2020 | Ratification |
| Barbados | 19 April 2018 | Ratification |
| Belarus | 3 November 2022 | Ratification |
| Belgium | 4 June 2018 | Ratification |
| Belize | 3 October 2023 | Approval |
| Benin | 19 March 2018 | Ratification |
| Bhutan | 27 September 2019 | Ratification |
| Bolivia | 9 October 2020 | Ratification |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 26 May 2021 | Ratification |
| Botswana | 19 September 2020 | Acceptance |
| Brazil | 19 October 2022 | Acceptance |
| Bulgaria | 1 May 2018 | Ratification |
| Burkina Faso | 26 July 2018 | Ratification |
| Burundi | 26 March 2021 | Ratification |
| Cambodia | 8 April 2021 | Acceptance |
| Cameroon | 24 August 2021 | Ratification |
| Canada | 3 November 2017 | Ratification |
| Cape Verde | 28 October 2020 | Ratification |
| Chad | 26 March 2019 | Ratification |
| Chile | 19 September 2017 | Ratification |
| China | 17 June 2021 | Acceptance |
| Colombia | 25 February 2021 | Ratification |
| Comoros | 16 November 2017 | Ratification |
| Congo | 16 June 2022 | Ratification |
| Cook Islands | 22 August 2019 | Acceptance |
| Costa Rica | 23 May 2018 | Ratification |
| Croatia | 6 December 2018 | Ratification |
| Cuba | 20 June 2019 | Ratification |
| Cyprus | 22 July 2019 | Ratification |
| Czech Republic | 27 September 2018 | Acceptance |
| Denmark | 6 December 2018 | Approval |
| Djibouti | 8 March 2024 | Ratification |
| Dominican Republic | 14 April 2021 | Acceptance |
| Ecuador | 22 January 2018 | Ratification |
| Egypt | 22 August 2023 | Ratification |
| El Salvador | 13 September 2021 | Acceptance |
| Eritrea | 7 February 2023 | Ratification |
| Estonia | 27 September 2018 | Ratification |
| Eswatini | 24 November 2020 | Acceptance |
| Ethiopia | 5 July 2019 | Ratification |
| European Union | 27 September 2018 | Approval |
| Fiji | 16 June 2020 | Ratification |
| Finland | 14 November 2017 | Acceptance |
| France | 29 March 2018 | Approval |
| Gabon | 28 February 2018 | Acceptance |
| Gambia | 5 May 2021 | Ratification |
| Georgia | 11 July 2023 | Acceptance |
| Germany | 14 November 2017 | Acceptance |
| Ghana | 2 August 2019 | Ratification |
| Greece | 5 October 2018 | Ratification |
| Grenada | 29 May 2018 | Ratification |
| Guatemala | 11 January 2024 | Ratification |
| Guinea | 5 December 2019 | Ratification |
| Guinea-Bissau | 22 October 2018 | Ratification |
| Holy See | 17 June 2020 | Ratification |
| Honduras | 28 January 2019 | Ratification |
| Hungary | 14 September 2018 | Approval |
| Iceland | 25 January 2021 | Acceptance |
| India | 27 September 2021 | Ratification |
| Indonesia | 14 December 2022 | Ratification |
| Ireland | 12 March 2018 | Ratification |
| Italy | 25 May 2022 | Ratification |
| Ivory Coast | 29 November 2017 | Acceptance |
| Japan | 18 December 2018 | Acceptance |
| Jordan | 16 October 2019 | Ratification |
| Kenya | 22 September 2023 | Acceptance |
| Kiribati | 26 October 2018 | Ratification |
| Kuwait | 4 November 2024 | Approval |
| Kyrgyzstan | 8 September 2020 | Ratification |
| Laos | 16 November 2017 | Acceptance |
| Latvia | 17 August 2018 | Ratification |
| Lebanon | 5 February 2020 | Ratification |
| Lesotho | 7 October 2019 | Ratification |
| Liberia | 12 July 2020 | Ratification |
| Liechtenstein | 16 September 2020 | Ratification |
| Lithuania | 24 July 2018 | Ratification |
| Luxembourg | 16 November 2017 | Ratification |
| Malawi | 21 November 2017 | Ratification |
| Malaysia | 21 October 2020 | Ratification |
| Maldives | 13 November 2017 | Ratification |
| Mali | 31 March 2017 | Acceptance |
| Marshall Islands | 15 May 2017 | Ratification |
| Mauritius | 1 October 2019 | Ratification |
| Mexico | 25 September 2018 | Acceptance |
| Micronesia | 12 May 2017 | Ratification |
| Moldova | 22 September 2023 | Acceptance |
| Mongolia | 27 July 2022 | Ratification |
| Montenegro | 23 April 2019 | Ratification |
| Morocco | 22 April 2022 | Ratification |
| Mozambique | 16 January 2020 | Ratification |
| Namibia | 16 May 2019 | Acceptance |
| Nauru | 3 November 2022 | Ratification |
| Netherlands | 8 February 2018 | Acceptance |
| New Zealand | 3 October 2019 | Ratification |
| Nicaragua | 30 September 2020 | Ratification |
| Niger | 29 August 2018 | Ratification |
| Nigeria | 20 December 2018 | Ratification |
| Niue | 24 April 2018 | Ratification |
| North Korea | 21 September 2017 | Ratification |
| North Macedonia | 12 March 2020 | Ratification |
| Norway | 6 September 2017 | Ratification |
| Oman | 8 November 2024 | Ratification |
| Palau | 29 August 2017 | Ratification |
| Panama | 28 September 2018 | Ratification |
| Papua New Guinea | 12 November 2024 | Ratification |
| Paraguay | 1 November 2018 | Acceptance |
| Peru | 7 August 2019 | Ratification |
| Philippines | 3 November 2022 | Ratification |
| Poland | 7 January 2019 | Ratification |
| Portugal | 17 July 2018 | Approval |
| Romania | 1 July 2020 | Acceptance |
| Russia | 3 October 2020 | Acceptance |
| Rwanda | 23 May 2017 | Ratification |
| Samoa | 23 March 2018 | Ratification |
| San Marino | 20 October 2020 | Acceptance |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | 4 October 2019 | Ratification |
| Senegal | 31 August 2018 | Ratification |
| Serbia | 8 October 2021 | Ratification |
| Seychelles | 20 August 2019 | Acceptance |
| Sierra Leone | 15 June 2020 | Ratification |
| Singapore | 1 June 2022 | Ratification |
| Slovakia | 16 November 2017 | Ratification |
| Slovenia | 7 December 2018 | Ratification |
| Solomon Islands | 23 May 2022 | Ratification |
| Somalia | 27 November 2019 | Ratification |
| South Africa | 1 August 2019 | Ratification |
| South Korea | 19 January 2023 | Ratification |
| Spain | 20 January 2022 | Ratification |
| Sri Lanka | 28 September 2018 | Ratification |
| Saint Lucia | 2 November 2021 | Ratification |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 7 November 2022 | Ratification |
| Sweden | 17 November 2017 | Ratification |
| Switzerland | 7 November 2018 | Ratification |
| Syria | 5 April 2021 | Ratification |
| Tajikistan | 29 June 2022 | Ratification |
| Tanzania | 25 March 2022 | Ratification |
| Thailand | 3 April 2024 | Ratification |
| Togo | 8 March 2018 | Acceptance |
| Tonga | 17 September 2018 | Ratification |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 17 November 2017 | Ratification |
| Tunisia | 27 August 2021 | Ratification |
| Turkey | 10 November 2021 | Ratification |
| Turkmenistan | 31 August 2020 | Ratification |
| Tuvalu | 21 September 2017 | Ratification |
| Uganda | 21 June 2018 | Ratification |
| United Arab Emirates | 19 April 2024 | Acceptance |
| United Kingdom | 14 November 2017 | Ratification |
| United States | 31 October 2022 | Ratification |
| Uruguay | 12 September 2018 | Ratification |
| Vanuatu | 20 April 2018 | Ratification |
| Venezuela | 5 December 2022 | Ratification |
| Vietnam | 27 September 2019 | Approval |
| Zambia | 15 March 2021 | Ratification |
| Zimbabwe | 18 October 2022 | Acceptance |