Dubai, 05 November 2025. Following discussions alerting the industry about potential supply shortages of HFC-based refrigerants during its HVACR Next Generation Congress in Riyadh on 28 October 2025, Eurovent Middle East has published its first industry guidance on the impending refrigerant transition in the region.

With the ratification of the Kigali Amendment by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in September, the GCC countries are set to phase down hydrofluorocarbon-based refrigerants (HFCs) starting with a baseline freeze in 2028, followed by phase-down from 2032. While the phase down begins only gradually with reductions of HFCs consumed or produced in steps of 10% every 5 years initially, the industry will be faced with potential supply shortages of HFC refrigerants due to the economic growth and thus rising demand for cooling in the region.

During the HVACR Next Generation Congress in Riyadh, Markus Lattner, Managing Director of Eurovent Middle East warned: “The phase down will start from a baseline of HFCs produced or consumed over the period from 2024 to 2026. This means that if we add the accumulated growth in the building sector in the next years to the 10% reduction in the first step, we can very likely look at a sudden shortage of HFC based refrigerants in excess of 30%, when the first reduction happens in 2032. To prevent wider shortfalls and bottlenecks, it is imperative that industry and governments act now!”

The Position Paper by Eurovent Middle East addresses alternatives and outlines recommendations to industry and governments on how to avoid bottlenecks in the future. It recommends the use of alternatives to HFCs immediately, wherever possible to be done safely, encourages upskilling initiatives to ensure that the workforce is prepared to handle alternative refrigerants, and calls for implementation and harmonisation of safety standards and regulatory frameworks across the region to facilitate the switch towards cooling and refrigeration systems which work with low global warming potential refrigerants.

The association’s position paper can be downloaded free-of-charge on the Eurovent Middle East website

Related documents and links

All related documents and links can be found below.

• Eurovent Middle East logo files
• Press images
• PDF version of the Press Release
• PDF version of the Position Paper