Refrigerant statistics span chemical production, imports, equipment demand, recovery, emissions, and policy. The figures below distinguish global estimates, U.S. measured flows, European Union indicators, and modeled U.S. demand. Physical metric tons are not interchangeable with CO2-equivalent or exchange-value-weighted measures.
Contents
- Global refrigerant scale and policy baseline
- U.S. HFC supply and market flows
- Chemical mix, blends and trading origins
- Recovery, reclamation and reporting
- Emissions and environmental outcomes
- Forward demand and transition outlook
Global refrigerant scale and policy baseline
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) account for approximately 2% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, according to the UNEP Kigali Amendment overview. UNEP also describes uncontrolled HFC use as having grown at more than 10% per year before controls. That is a historical, approximate description of an uncontrolled trajectory, not a current annual growth measurement.
The Kigali Amendment was adopted in 2016 as a legally binding agreement with differentiated HFC reductions for developed and developing countries. Developed-country Parties began stage-1 reductions in 2019. Most developing-country Parties were scheduled for an HFC-use freeze in 2024 before phased reductions; this is a policy schedule rather than an observed result.
Under Kigali implementation, global HFC use is expected to be 80% to 85% below the uncontrolled trajectory by 2047. This is a forecast and should not be read as a measured 2047 outcome. The baseline itself differs by country group. The UNEP OzonAction Kigali baseline fact sheet defines the earlier non-Article 5 baseline as average HFC consumption in 2011–2013 plus 15% of the HCFC baseline. For most Article 5 Group 1 countries, the baseline uses average HFC consumption in 2020–2022 plus 65% of the HCFC baseline. Article 5 Group 2 countries use a 2024–2026 baseline period.
These definitions matter when comparing “refrigerant” figures. A policy baseline is weighted by climate impact and may use CO2-equivalent or exchange-value measures, while a supply table may report physical kilograms or metric tons.
U.S. HFC supply and market flows
The U.S. figures in the EPA Analysis of 2022–2025 HFC Allocation Program Data describe regulated HFCs and are not global refrigerant totals. EPA excludes transshipments from export values, limits production and import figures to consumptive use, and notes that net supply does not include reclaimed quantities or inventory.
U.S. regulated-HFC exports were approximately 28,260 metric tons in 2022, 20,760 metric tons in 2023, 26,282 metric tons in 2024, and 23,023 metric tons in 2025. The 2025 figure was preliminary and undergoing verification.
| U.S. regulated-HFC indicator | 2022 | 2025 | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exports | 28,260 metric tons | 23,023 metric tons | Excludes transshipments |
| HFC-125 consumptive-use production | 19,217 metric tons | 14,247 metric tons | Production only; 2025 preliminary |
| HFC-134a consumptive-use production | 61,398 metric tons | 42,137 metric tons | Production only; 2025 preliminary |
| HFC-152a consumptive-use production | 29,656 metric tons | 28,910 metric tons | Production only; 2025 preliminary |
| HFC-32 consumptive-use production | 17,762 metric tons | 23,884 metric tons | Production only; 2025 preliminary |
The chemical pattern is uneven. HFC-245fa production for consumptive use fell from 4,824 metric tons in 2022 to 536 metric tons in 2025. HFC-32 imports rose from 9,931 metric tons to 21,130 metric tons over the same period; those imports include HFC in blends. HFC-125 imports fell from 23,931 metric tons to 9,495 metric tons, while HFC-134a imports fell from 7,928 metric tons to 4,343 metric tons.
HFC-143a imports increased from 1,954 metric tons in 2022 to 4,408 metric tons in 2025, with zero domestic production in both years. In 2025, HFC-23 production for consumptive use was 0 metric tons and imports were 86 metric tons. All 2025 EPA figures in this section are preliminary where stated by the agency.
Chemical mix, blends and trading origins
Blended refrigerants are an increasingly important part of measured U.S. imports. The share of HFCs imported for consumptive use as blends rose from 23% of imported quantity by kilograms in 2022 to 41% in 2024, then measured 35% in 2025. The 2025 value was preliminary. Because blend imports contain more than one HFC, individual chemical import figures should not be treated as standalone product-market totals.
Domestic production supplied 71% of U.S. regulated-HFC quantity for consumptive use in 2022, compared with 29% from imports. In 2025, the split was 72% domestic production and 28% imports, with the 2025 data preliminary.
The balance differed by chemical. Imports supplied 55% of HFC-125 consumptive-use quantity in 2022 and 40% in 2025. For HFC-134a, imports supplied 11% in 2022 and 9% in 2025. HFC-32 moved in the opposite direction: the import share increased from 36% in 2022 to 47% in 2025.
Country origins also shifted. China accounted for 58% of U.S. HFC imports for consumptive use in 2022 and 26% in 2025. India represented 26% in 2022 and 29% in 2025. The United Arab Emirates supplied 0% in 2022 and 27% in 2025. These percentages are based on imported quantity by kilograms and include HFCs in blends; 2025 data were preliminary.
EPA’s modeled U.S. demand projections use MMTEVe, meaning million metric tons exchange value equivalent. They are not physical market totals. R-410A demand is projected at 39.72 MMTEVe in 2030, 1.51 MMTEVe in 2040, and 0.16 MMTEVe in 2050. R-404A is projected at 36.24 MMTEVe in 2030, 8.71 MMTEVe in 2040, and 0.11 MMTEVe in 2050.
Recovery, reclamation and reporting
Recovery and reclamation statistics show how much refrigerant is handled after initial production and import. U.S. reported HFC and HFC-blend reclamation increased from 3,458.1 metric tons in 2022 to 5,869.8 metric tons in 2025. HFC recycling for fire suppression increased from 41.5 metric tons to 76.7 metric tons over the same period. The 2025 values were preliminary.
The EPA report also tracks RACA reports through first-round review. The rejection rate fell from 37% in 2022 to 34% in 2023, 28% in 2024, and 26% in 2025. The 2025 rate was preliminary. EPA says RACA data are largely or wholly accurate and complete because approval is required, so the first-round rate measures submission correction rather than a direct estimate of all refrigerant handling.
For 2024 specifically, the United States reported 5,376.4 metric tons of HFC and HFC-blend reclamation and 63.6 metric tons of HFC recycling for fire suppression.
International licensing coverage provides a separate implementation indicator. The Ozone Secretariat status of HFC licensing systems reported that 168 of 174 Kigali-ratifying Parties had reported establishment and operation of HFC licensing systems. Its wider summary listed 170 Parties reporting establishment of HFC licensing systems, including two Parties that had not ratified Kigali. These are reported system-status counts, not tonnage measures.
Emissions and environmental outcomes
The EPA GHGRP Fluorinated Chemicals figures cover reporting facilities in the U.S. fluorinated-chemicals sector, not every refrigerant release nationwide. Those facilities reported 17.3 million metric tons CO2e of total emissions in 2011 and 3.5 million metric tons CO2e in 2023. Fluorinated gases accounted for 2.9 million metric tons CO2e of the 2023 total.
Reported fluorinated greenhouse-gas emissions fell from 16.5 million metric tons CO2e in 2011 to 2.9 million metric tons CO2e in 2023. The sector had 17 reporting facilities in each year from 2019 through 2023. Facility coverage remained stable in that period, but the dataset’s stated scope still means the result should not be generalized to all U.S. refrigerant releases.
The European Union provides another policy-and-outcome view. According to the European Commission’s fluorinated greenhouse-gas indicators, EU HFC supply was 45% lower in 2024 than in 2015, and HFC consumption was 60% below the Montreal Protocol cap in 2024. EU imports of HFCs inside refrigeration, air-conditioning, and heat-pump equipment were 10% lower in 2024 than in 2023.
Total EU F-gas emissions fell by one-third between 2015 and 2024, while HFCs made up 91% of those emissions. These are official Commission summary indicators for the EU and should not be combined arithmetically with U.S. facility-reporting totals.
Forward demand and transition outlook
EPA’s Vintaging Model projects a changing U.S. refrigerant mix through 2050. The values below are forecasts in MMTEVe, not observed market sales.
| Refrigerant | 2030 | 2040 | 2050 |
|---|---|---|---|
| HFC-134a | 13.49 | 7.34 | 6.13 |
| HFC-152a | 5.20 | 5.73 | 6.33 |
| HFC-32 | 10.29 | 14.95 | 16.28 |
| R-454B | 20.94 | 30.51 | 33.28 |
| R-452A | 4.67 | 7.98 | 10.50 |
| R-404A | 36.24 | 8.71 | 0.11 |
| R-410A | 39.72 | 1.51 | 0.16 |
The model therefore places very different trajectories beside one another. HFC-134a is projected to decline from 13.49 MMTEVe in 2030 to 6.13 MMTEVe in 2050. HFC-152a is projected to rise from 5.20 to 6.33 MMTEVe, and HFC-32 from 10.29 to 16.28 MMTEVe. R-454B is projected to rise from 20.94 to 33.28 MMTEVe, while R-452A rises from 4.67 to 10.50 MMTEVe.
In contrast, R-404A is projected to fall from 36.24 MMTEVe in 2030 to 0.11 MMTEVe in 2050, and R-410A from 39.72 to 0.16 MMTEVe. These projections describe modeled demand under the EPA Vintaging Model; they are not guarantees of future adoption, availability, or price.