Ammonia has traditionally proven to be one of the most energy efficient and cost effective refrigerants in industrial refrigeration systems across different world regions. However, with the growing legislative pressure focusing on safety and increased energy efficiency, a new generation of natural refrigerant technologies has emerged, including low-charge ammonia, ammonia/CO2 cascade and secondary, CO2 transcritical systems and to a smaller extent systems using hydrocarbons and air as refrigerants in industrial applications. These advanced systems are supplanting a fraction of traditional ammonia systems as well as the raft of R22 refrigerated sites across the world that will all need to be replaced by 2030 in developing countries and by 2020 in developed countries. This growing trend for advanced natural refrigerant-based solutions is evident in all major regions, as shecco’s on-going data collection has already found that there are already 115 CO2- based industrial refrigeration plants in North America, 34 such installations in China, more than 300 NH3/CO2 installations in Japan and over 150 CO2 transcritical industrial installations in Europe. This paper draws a comprehensive comparison of the market, technology and policy trends that are generating this uptake of innovative industrial refrigeration systems using natural refrigerants in North America, China, Japan and Europe. It takes account of regional industry surveys conducted by shecco in these regions as well as of findings from international conferences, data collection and relevant research papers.