In Southeast Asia, protecting the ozone layer can be found in surprisingly familiar places: an air conditioner installed in Jakarta, a refrigerator repaired in Manila or a customs officer inspecting refrigerant cylinders at a regional port. These everyday systems now sit at the centre of one of the world’s most successful environmental campaigns.
Context: Thirty-Nine Years of a Working Treaty
Observed every September 16, the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer commemorates the adoption of the Montreal Protocol in 1987. The 2026 theme, “Global Action for a Cooler Planet,” also celebrates ten years of sustainable cooling under the protocol’s Kigali Amendment.
The ozone layer acts as Earth’s atmospheric shield, absorbing most of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation. Its rapid deterioration was linked to chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, once widely used in refrigerators, air conditioners, aerosols and industrial products.
Global action has now eliminated nearly 99 percent of controlled ozone-depleting substances. If existing policies and compliance continue, the ozone layer is expected to return to 1980 levels by around 2040 across most of the world, 2045 over the Arctic and 2066 over Antarctica.
Challenge: Meeting Southeast Asia’s Growing Cooling Needs
The region’s next challenge is closely connected to rising temperatures, expanding cities and higher demand for refrigeration. Cooling protects food, medicines and vaccines while making homes, schools and workplaces safer during extreme heat. However, inefficient equipment and high-emission refrigerants can increase electricity consumption and accelerate climate change.
Hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, were introduced as replacements for ozone-damaging chemicals. Although they do not directly deplete ozone, some have extremely high global-warming potential. The Kigali Amendment therefore requires their gradual reduction while encouraging climate-friendly, energy-efficient alternatives. Full implementation could prevent approximately 0.3 to 0.5 degrees Celsius of warming by the end of this century.
Cooperation: Southeast Asia Advances Together
The region has already achieved significant progress. UNEP’s Southeast Asia Ozone Network reports that participating countries eliminated CFC consumption by 2010. By 2023, their combined consumption of hydrochlorofluorocarbons, or HCFCs, had fallen by 66 percent from the regional baseline established using 2009–2010 averages.
As of November 2025, nine countries in the network had ratified the Kigali Amendment: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Regional cooperation now covers refrigerant management, customs enforcement, digital licensing and the prevention of illegal trade.
In December 2025, national ozone officers and customs authorities met in Luang Prabang to exchange practical approaches to monitoring controlled substances. Similar meetings in Hạ Long, Phuket, Clark and Kuala Lumpur have connected regulators, technicians, manufacturers and international partners.
Change: Building a Safer Cooling Workforce
Environmental commitments only become effective when technicians and businesses can apply them. Southeast Asian countries are therefore developing competency standards for handling low-global-warming-potential refrigerants, some of which are flammable, toxic or operate under high pressure.
Ms Zuhasni of Indonesia’s National Ozone Unit explained, “We have integrated safety aspects of flammable/toxic/high pressure refrigerants in the upper level of competency standards.” This approach connects treaty obligations with the daily work of refrigeration and air-conditioning technicians.
At a regional meeting in Penang in April 2025, representatives from ten countries examined commercially viable alternatives and visited a Malaysian refrigerator manufacturer using cyclopentane insulation and R-290 refrigerant. Nolan B. Francisco, a Supervising Environmental Management Specialist from the Philippines, said, “This network meeting and the site visit helped us enhance our knowledge on available and suitable alternative technologies.”
Such exchanges allow countries to learn from equipment already operating under Southeast Asian temperatures and commercial conditions.
Continuity: Protecting Progress Through Better Choices
The next stage requires governments to enforce import controls, prevent obsolete equipment from entering regional markets and support businesses transitioning to efficient cooling technologies. Consumers also have a role: maintaining appliances, repairing refrigerant leaks and choosing energy-efficient equipment can reduce emissions and electricity costs.
The Montreal Protocol succeeded because science was translated into binding targets, financial assistance and technological cooperation. Its Multilateral Fund helped developing countries undertake transitions that might otherwise have been unaffordable.
Southeast Asia’s experience shows that environmental progress can accompany economic development. By improving appliances, training technicians and strengthening regional enforcement, the region can protect the ozone layer while delivering safer and more affordable cooling to its growing population.
