Cooling Africa Without Warming the Planet: The Kigali Opportunity
Across Africa, cooling is becoming less of a luxury and more of an essential part of everyday life. In rapidly growing cities, air conditioning is increasingly important for homes, offices and public spaces. In hospitals, reliable refrigeration protects medicines and vaccines. For farmers, food processors and retailers, cold-chain infrastructure can determine whether food reaches consumers or is lost before it gets to market.
As temperatures rise and demand for cooling grows, however, Africa faces a critical development challenge: how can the continent expand access to cooling without locking itself into inefficient technologies and refrigerants that contribute to climate change?
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That question is particularly relevant on the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, observed every 16 September. The 2026 theme, “Global action for a cooler planet,” marks 10 years since countries adopted the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol in Rwanda. The anniversary highlights how international cooperation on ozone protection has evolved into a broader effort to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and promote sustainable cooling.
A Global Environmental Success with African Roots
The Montreal Protocol is widely regarded as one of the most successful examples of international environmental cooperation. According to the United Nations, the agreement has helped drive the phase-out of nearly 99 per cent of controlled ozone-depleting substances globally.
The latest scientific evidence provides further reason for optimism. The World Meteorological Organization’s Ozone and UV Bulletin, released on 16 September 2026, reports that the 2025 Antarctic ozone hole was among the smallest observed in recent decades. It ranked as the fourth or fifth weakest since severe ozone depletion patterns were observed in 1992, while its maximum ozone mass deficit was 36.7 million tonnes, more than 25 per cent below the 1990–2010 average of 50.1 million tonnes.
The WMO also stresses that year-to-year fluctuations remain possible, meaning a smaller ozone hole in one year does not by itself establish a permanent recovery. Nevertheless, the broader trend remains encouraging.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo described the ozone layer as an environmental success story, noting that it has been recovering since 2000 and is expected to return to historical levels over the coming decades.
The lesson is significant for Africa: sustained international agreements, backed by science, financing, monitoring and national implementation, can produce measurable environmental results.
From Ozone Protection to Climate Action
The environmental benefits of the Montreal Protocol extend beyond the ozone layer.
The Kigali Amendment, adopted in Kigali, Rwanda, in October 2016, added a major climate dimension to the treaty by establishing a global phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs. These chemicals do not directly destroy the ozone layer, but many have a high global-warming potential and are widely used in refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment.
The United Nations estimates that full implementation of the Kigali Amendment could avoid up to 0.5°C of global warming by the end of the century. Combining the phase-down of high-GWP refrigerants with improvements in energy efficiency can deliver even greater climate benefits.
For Africa, this connection between cooling and climate action is increasingly important.
Africa’s Cooling Demand Is Rising
Africa has contributed relatively little to historical global emissions, yet its need for cooling is growing rapidly. Population growth, urbanisation, rising temperatures and expanding economic activity are all increasing demand for refrigeration and air conditioning.
This demand is closely linked to development.
Healthcare systems need dependable cold storage for vaccines, medicines and other temperature-sensitive products. Agriculture and food businesses need cold chains to reduce post-harvest losses and connect producers with larger markets. Offices, factories and shops require comfortable working environments, while households increasingly depend on cooling as temperatures become more intense.
The challenge, therefore, is not whether Africa needs more cooling. It is how that cooling is delivered.
If countries continue investing in inefficient equipment and high-global-warming-potential refrigerants, they risk creating a cycle in which rising temperatures increase cooling demand, increased cooling demand raises electricity consumption and refrigerant emissions, and those emissions contribute further to warming.
Africa has an opportunity to break that cycle.
Leapfrogging into Sustainable Cooling
Rather than reproducing inefficient cooling systems developed for older markets, African countries can use the transition to sustainable cooling as an opportunity to leapfrog.
Energy-efficient air conditioners and refrigerators, low-global-warming-potential refrigerants and natural refrigerant technologies can help reduce the environmental footprint of cooling. Better building design, insulation, ventilation and passive cooling can further reduce the amount of energy required to maintain comfortable temperatures.
The benefits extend well beyond climate policy.
For farmers and food businesses, better cold chains can reduce losses and improve access to markets. For healthcare systems, reliable refrigeration can strengthen the storage and distribution of essential medicines and vaccines. For businesses, efficient cooling can reduce operating costs and support productivity. For households, more efficient appliances can reduce electricity consumption over their working life.
Sustainable cooling should therefore be viewed not simply as an environmental obligation, but as part of Africa’s broader infrastructure and economic-development agenda.
Bringing Technicians and Informal Businesses into the Transition
One of the most important elements of Africa’s cooling transition is the workforce that installs, repairs and maintains refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment.
Across the continent, much of this work is carried out by technicians and small businesses operating informally. A successful transition cannot overlook them.
Training and certification programmes can help technicians safely work with new refrigerants and more efficient equipment. Governments and industry can expand access to technical education, refrigerant recovery and recycling systems, proper handling practices and modern diagnostic tools.
At the same time, regulation needs to be designed in a way that raises standards without unnecessarily excluding the small businesses that already provide essential services to households and communities.
There is also a strong regional dimension. Illegal trade in controlled refrigerants can undermine national phase-down efforts, particularly where borders are difficult to monitor. UNEP notes that licensing and quota systems, customs cooperation, electronic tracking and information-sharing can strengthen enforcement and reduce opportunities for illegal trade.
Regional economic communities, including ECOWAS and other African regional blocs, can therefore play an important role in harmonising standards, strengthening customs cooperation and supporting information exchange.
Turning Kigali into Africa’s Next Cooling Chapter
Ten years after the Kigali Amendment, the priority for Africa should be implementation.
Governments can strengthen HFC licensing and quota systems, integrate sustainable cooling into national climate and development plans, and develop or update national cooling strategies. Energy-efficiency standards also need to evolve alongside refrigerant policies so that countries do not simply replace one environmental problem with another.
Industry and investors have an equally important role. Expanding access to efficient equipment, supporting local manufacturing and servicing capacity, and developing financing models that make sustainable technologies affordable can accelerate the transition.
International partners can support these efforts through technology transfer, technical assistance, climate finance and continued support through the Multilateral Fund associated with the Montreal Protocol.
The story of the ozone layer demonstrates that environmental challenges can be addressed when governments, scientists, industry and international institutions sustain cooperation over time. The latest WMO findings provide another reminder that progress is possible, while also underscoring the importance of continued monitoring and compliance.
For Africa, the task now is to build on that progress.
The continent needs more cooling to support healthier communities, stronger food systems, productive businesses and resilient cities. But the cooling systems being built today will shape Africa’s energy consumption and environmental footprint for decades to come.
The next phase of Africa’s cooling story should therefore be about more than keeping people and products cool. It should be about building systems that are efficient, affordable, climate-smart and accessible.
Ten years after Kigali, Africa has an opportunity to turn sustainable cooling into a pillar of development — helping the continent stay productive and resilient without adding unnecessarily to the warming it is already experiencing.
