In Drupal 7 to Backdrop all variables with the format of date_format_NAME were converted to be stored in system.date like this:
"formats": {
"long": {
"label": "Long",
"pattern": "l, j F, Y - g:ia",
"module": "system"
},
This way the format will appear in the "Date and Time Formats" settings UI. I'm guessing that right now this config isn't exposed anywhere.