Ozone layer recovery: global cooperation yields results
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The United Nations reported progress in the recovery of the ozone layer, noting that the world has eliminated 99% of chemicals damaging it.
This success stems from global efforts based on the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement signed in 1987. The Protocol established guidelines for managing substances that deplete the ozone layer, a part of the atmosphere protecting life from excessive ultraviolet radiation.
Scientists first identified in the 1970s that chemicals in everyday products, such as aerosols, air conditioners, and refrigerators, harmed the ozone layer. In 1985, they discovered a hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica, which led to the Vienna Convention for its protection. As a result of the Montreal Protocol, nearly all ozone-depleting substances have been phased out, allowing the protective layer to replenish.
Meg Seki, Executive Secretary of the UN Environment Programme’s Ozone Secretariat, stated that the Montreal Protocol is “one of the best examples we have of the positive and powerful result of multilateralism.” Without the measures taken under the Protocol, plants and soil would have stored less carbon, potentially increasing global temperatures by 0.5 to 1.0 °C. Experts predict the Antarctic ozone hole will close by 2060.
