World Ozone Day 2026: what ten years of the Kigali Amendment changed

The 2026 theme

World Ozone Day takes place worldwide on 16 September 2026 under the theme Global action for a cooler planet. The Ozone Secretariat says the campaign will celebrate ten years of sustainable cooling under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.

The date is a chance to explain two connected but different environmental problems. The Montreal Protocol protects the stratospheric ozone layer by controlling ozone-depleting substances. The Kigali Amendment adds a phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, which generally do not deplete ozone but can be powerful greenhouse gases.

Why cooling is an environmental system

Cooling keeps food safe, protects medicines, supports work, and helps people cope with heat. Demand for it is growing as temperatures rise and incomes change. The choice of refrigerant matters, but so do the design, maintenance, electricity source, leak prevention, recovery, and end-of-life handling of the equipment.

A badly maintained system can waste electricity and leak refrigerant. A low-global-warming-potential refrigerant in an inefficient system can still create high emissions through energy use. The Ozone Secretariat's message links the HFC phase-down with energy efficiency and industrial capacity because the transition has to work in real buildings and supply chains.

What the Kigali Amendment requires

The amendment was agreed in Kigali in October 2016 and entered into force on 1 January 2019. Countries follow differentiated schedules, with developed and developing-country groups taking different steps. UNEP materials describe a global phase-down of more than 80 per cent of high-global-warming-potential HFCs over the following decades, with financial and technical support built into the Montreal Protocol system.

That is a treaty framework, not a guarantee that every piece of cooling equipment will improve on its own. Governments still need standards, training, refrigerant controls, financing, and enforcement. Businesses and households need products that are safe, repairable, efficient, and available at a reasonable cost.

A practical World Ozone Day checklist

• Check whether an air conditioner, refrigerator, or heat pump is maintained and free from avoidable leaks.
• Ask for the refrigerant type and the equipment's energy-efficiency information before replacing a system.
• Use qualified technicians and make sure old refrigerant is recovered rather than vented.
• Reduce cooling demand through shade, insulation, ventilation, and sensible temperature settings where conditions allow.
• Treat climate claims about refrigerants as technical claims that need a source, not as a label to repeat without context.

A treaty with a visible local edge

Global agreements can feel distant until a school, clinic, supermarket, or apartment block needs reliable cooling during a heatwave. A local note about equipment age, maintenance, electricity use, or heat exposure can show where national policy meets daily life. It can also reveal the equity question: who can afford efficient cooling, and who is left with the highest energy bills and greatest heat risk?

The Montreal Protocol's record is real progress, but it still needs maintenance. World Ozone Day 2026 is a good moment to connect that success with the less visible work of technicians, regulators, manufacturers, building managers, and households.

Sources

• UNEP Ozone Secretariat: World Ozone Day 2026

  Official 2026 theme, date, Kigali ten-year focus, and campaign explanation. (LINK_ONLY)

• UNEP Ozone Secretariat: Kigali Amendment overview

  Current treaty overview covering HFCs, differentiated timelines, and the expected global phase-down. (LINK_ONLY)

• UNEP OzonAction: About the Montreal Protocol

  Background on the Montreal Protocol, HFC phase-down, energy efficiency, and the climate co-benefit. (LINK_ONLY)

• UNEP Ozone Secretariat: facts and figures

  Official figures on ozone-depleting substances, Kigali implementation, and climate benefits. (LINK_ONLY)