With Malta’s ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on December 19, 2025, all 27 European Union member states have now ratified the international agreement to phase down HFCs.
Acting as a collective governing body, the EU ratified the global HFC phase-down amendment in September 2018. In 2024, it took additional measures to promote the use of alternatives to fluorinated gases, with its revised f-gas regulation mandating a complete HFC phase out by 2050.
Malta, with its “Group 1” developed country status under the Kigali Amendment, follows the earliest phase-down schedule, which requires an 85% reduction in HFC consumption by 2036 compared to its baseline average from 2011 to 2013. However, as an EU member, the more stringent EU F-gas Regulation already applies.
The situation: In its 2024 greenhouse gas emissions report, Malta attributed 9.4% of its total 2022 CO2e emissions to Industrial Process and Production Use (IPPU). Of its IPPU emissions, 94.5% came from its refrigeration and air conditioning sectors.
- Malta’s next steps include improving HFC imports and consumption monitoring, end–of–equipment–life HFC recovery and waste management, methodological alignment with international standards and transitioning to low–GWP alternatives, according to its 2024 report.
- The country is the 172nd nation to ratify the Kigali Amendment.
Gaining momentum: Saudi Arabia ratified the Kigali Amendment on September 10, 2025, making it the fifth nation in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to do so. Qatar is the only remaining member of the GCC that has not ratified the Kigali Amendment.
- Italy-based natural refrigerant manufacturer Epta has installed propane (R290) cabinets and CO2 (R744) systems in the Middle East for over a decade. The area is ready to scale natural refrigerants, according to Andrea Cavalet, Epta’s Middle East General Manager, with success dependent upon investing in people, aligning pragmatic policies and proving performance.
- In an attempt to accelerate this transition, ATMOsphere, publisher of NaturalRefrigerants.com, is hosting its first-ever event in the region, ATMO Middle East. It will be held in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., from September 7–8, 2026.
Other 2025 ratifications: In addition to Malta and Saudi Arabia, seven other countries ratified the Kigali Amendment in 2025: Azerbaijan, Brunei Darussalam, the Central African Republic, Mauritania, Nepal, Pakistan and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
