Over the last three decades, the world has realized that the safest and efficient fluorinated refrigerants that were used for decades, contribute negatively to global warming and ozone depletion and threaten life on earth. Because of this, governments and industry engaged in legal and research efforts to find alternatives in order to control refrigerant emissions, while maintaining the pace of human development and quality of life. Several international agreements concluded, and a new generation of refrigerants has been introduced over the last few decades resulting in several challenges that need to be overcome.
UN Environment Programme is an Implementing Agency of the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol. OzonAction is part of UN Environment Programme's Law Division and serves 147 developing countries through the Compliance Assistance Programme.