As the phase-down of ODS and HFCs advances, focus shifts from what enters the market to what leaves it. Large quantities of used and unwanted refrigerants remain in equipment, stockpiles and banks. How they are handled at end of life will determine whether these valuable gases are released into the atmosphere or contained, and so whether the full climate and ozone benefits of the Montreal Protocol are realized.
Reclaim and destruction are the final, and still least developed, pieces of Lifecycle Refrigerant Management (LRM) architecture. Closing this loop is essential. TEAP estimates that end-of-life recovery could avoid approximately 23.4 Gt CO₂e of HFC and HCFC emissions from 2025 to 2050, relative to a pre-Kigali baseline.
This side event examines how recovery, reclaim and destruction can be improved and scaled, taking a holistic view of what it takes to get end-of-life management right. Speakers will show how much goes into an effective system. This includes sound decision-making on investments, advanced technologies for reclamation and destruction, the logistics of collecting, storing and transporting used refrigerants, and the specialized expertise needed to run these operations safely and efficiently. They will stress the importance of tracking and inventories, which means knowing what quantities exist, where they are held and where they end up, as the foundation for planning, investment and accountability.
The event will look at where reclamation and destruction facilities are currently located and where the geographical gaps lie. It will also cover the costs and benefits of different pathways, including the factors that drive those costs, and the opportunities for public and private finance to close the gap, including the role the Multilateral Fund can play. Multilateral Fund pilot projects destroyed approximately 392 tonnes of ODS, avoiding 2.23 million tonnes CO₂e (TEAP LRM Report).
Goals
The discussion is anchored in MOP Decision XXXVII/3, which requests TEAP to prepare a comprehensive report on the quantities of, and options for, used and unwanted controlled substances, including identification of destruction and reclamation facilities and conditions for export of used refrigerants.
The side event will present, share and discuss recent research and data available to support LRM and end-of-life management, including the link with national and sectoral inventories. It builds on the 2025 and 2026 Yale Cooling Conferences, which focused on advancing LRM and scaling recovery, reclamation and destruction (see the 2026 Yale Cooling Conference Synthesis Report).
We aim to widen the shared knowledge base and hear from project developers and actors recovering, reclaiming and destroying gases, as well as those providing finance. We will discuss the data, economics, policy and financing systems needed to scale up infrastructure, identifying what all stakeholders need to do to overcome the remaining barriers, so that this final piece of the LRM architecture is firmly in place for a truly circular and sustainable cooling system.
Programme
|Monday 2 November 2026|6—8pm|Room AD12-B|
Before starting, food will be available. The programme will have short presentations (about 10 minutes), each followed by a Q&A (about 5 minutes). We will end with a closing panel.
Presentations and panelists:
o Anastasia O’Rourke from the Carbon Containment Lab will focus her presentation on mapping of destruction/reclaim facilities worldwide.
o Ali White from Cascade Climate will focus on operational and capital costs of LRM and the major cost drivers across recovery, recycling, reclamation, and destruction.
o Elvira Nigido from A-Gas will focus on operational challenges on the ground to scale reclamation.
o Louis Potok from Recoolit will focus on how carbon credits and robust digital tracking can drive LRM forward.
o Avipsa Mahapatra from EIA will focus on the role of policy in financing and scaling LRM.