Ten Years of Cooling: The Kigali Amendment Through the Female Lens
A collective narrative for International Women’s Day
On International Women’s Day, as we mark ten years of the Kigali Amendment, we look back on a decade of implementation through the women—across continents, working in classrooms, industry, ministries, cold chain systems, and scientific panels—who have trained the next generation of technicians, shaped transformative policies, built inclusive cold chain systems, advanced scientific understanding, and strengthened institutional capacity worldwide, reflecting on what this global commitment has meant for the people and countries striving to translate it into everyday reality.
When the Kigali Amendment was agreed in 2016, it culminated years of intense negotiations, awareness raising, and persistence to overcome the many hurdles the negotiators faced. Many of which revolved around the challenges countries would potentially face adhering to such an agreement.
As Clare Perry, Climate Campaign Leader at the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) reflected, even after agreement was reached, implementation was far from simple. Many developing countries were still phasing out Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) while contemplating or beginning the Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) phase down, creating a layered and often slow transition that required both patience and creativity from those navigating it.
In Barbados, Shakira Boyce, refrigeration and air conditioning instructor at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology, saw firsthand how this global transition unfolded in the classroom. New cohorts of technicians entered training eager and prepared, yet the prevailing servicing culture often lacked the updated knowledge or infrastructure needed to support best practices. Many technicians still struggled with proper refrigerant recovery, disposal, and safe handling. Shakira recognised that the commitment to phasing out refrigerants on paper meant little if the technicians doing the work lacked equipment, licensing frameworks, or industry support. Although the Ministry of Environment invested in training and equipment, she saw clearly how the gap between policy and practice reminded everyone that real change is gradual and must be nurtured from the ground up.
In Senegal, Sokhna Fall Diawara—a cooling technician, entrepreneur, and advisor to the National Ozone Unit—witnessed a different kind of beginning. Implementation was formally launched only in 2024, and Sokhna observed how the success of a phase down depended on strong import controls, access to new refrigerants, and large scale technical training. She noted that while technicians were eager to learn and ministries were committed, shortages of equipment and the dominance of existing HFC systems meant that progress would require sustained long term investment. Her experience emphasised what is often overlooked globally: ambition must be matched by technical capacity and practical tools.
Yet despite these challenges, there was remarkable progress across the world. Yosr Allouche, Director at the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR), highlighted how the Kigali Amendment sent an unmistakable market signal—an irreversible shift away from high global warming potential (GWP) HFCs. This certainty accelerated innovation in natural refrigerants and climate friendly solutions.
Ellen Michel, project manager at GIZ Proklima, saw governments such as the EU and early movers like Grenada adopt bold policies and taxation systems that fast tracked the shift toward ultra low GWP technologies. Training programmes expanded, safety standards evolved, and technicians increasingly learned to handle flammable refrigerants—transforming a sector long considered resistant to change. Energy efficiency also became central to cooling strategies, reshaping conversations once focused solely on refrigerants.
In Rwanda, Leyla Sayin, Deputy Director at the Centre for Sustainable Cooling at the University of Birmingham, working through the Africa Centre for Sustainable Cooling (ACES), saw how cooling is far more than simply equipment. It is essential infrastructure underpinning food security, public health, and economic resilience. But she also recognised the risks: without intentional design, expanding cold chains could reinforce existing gender inequalities, undermining the large contributions already being made by women in Rwanda. To counter this, Leyla and her colleagues trained policymakers, farmers, and project developers in gender awareness; mentored young women engineers entering refrigeration; and supported women smallholders in accessing higher-value markets through improved cold chain systems. These efforts are a testament to the benefits of the Amendment and how they extend beyond climate mitigation—they shape people’s lives, livelihoods, and opportunities.
From the scientific perspective, Lucy Carpenter, atmospheric chemist at the University of Cambridge and a cochair of the Montreal Protocol’s Scientific Assessment Panel, watched the atmospheric data tell its own story. Shifts in HFC concentrations and the rise of low-GWP hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs) demonstrated clear evidence that Kigali was working. This is great news as studies have shown that the Amendment could prevent 0.3–0.5°C of warming by 2100—more if paired with strong energy efficiency improvements. But Lucy also warned of emerging challenges: atmospheric measurements of persistent HFC 23 emissions that do not corroborate with reported data, rising carbon tetrachloride emissions, and the formation of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a long-lived substance that may be harmful to the aquatic ecosystem and humans, from HFOs. These scientific insights underscored the crucial need for continued monitoring, research, and vigilance.
Implementation, however, was far from uniform. Bella Maranion of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Marta Pizano, Floricultural and Horticultural Consultant—both co chairs of the Protocol’s Technology and Economic Assessment Panel—observed stark disparities across countries. 
Some nations successfully leapfrogged straight to natural refrigerants; others struggled due to financial barriers, limited skills, or lack of access to alternatives. Servicing sectors in some regions modernised rapidly, while in others they remained fragmented and informal. In many places, refrigerant transition proceeded without integrating energy efficiency, reducing potential climate gains. Their reflections highlighted the persistent challenges in ensuring consistency, and accessibility in global transition pathways.
Even so, the direction of travel is unmistakable. The Kigali Amendment has reshaped the global refrigeration landscape. It sparked new research, strengthened cooperation, and elevated cooling from an invisible background process to a pillar of climate action and sustainable development.
Looking ahead to the next decade, their hopes and aspirations are ambitious but rooted in experience: where low-GWP refrigerants and high efficiency becoming the default choice; where end of life refrigerant management is taken as seriously as installation; where developing countries can access technology, training, and financing without barriers; and where sustainable cooling systems integrate seamlessly with food security, healthcare, and climate resilience priorities.
