UN: Healing Ozone Layer Shows Why Environmental Treaties Matter

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Byย Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch. Reposted with permission from EcoWatch.

After decades of thinning, Earth’s ozone layer is slowing recovering, the United Nations (UN) said in a report released Monday, highlighting how international cooperation can help tackle major environmentalย issues.

The ozone layer, which protects humans and other species from the sun’s highly hazardous ultraviolet radiation, has been declining since the 1970s due to the effect of chemicals such asย chlorofluorocarbonsย (CFCs) and similar gases found in refrigerants and aerosol sprayย cans.

But theย new studyย โ€”ย Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 2018ย โ€” shows that ozone in parts of the stratosphere has recovered at a rate of 1-3 percent since 2000 due to the success of the 1987ย Montreal Protocol, the landmark multilateral environmental agreement that phased out ozone-depletingย substances.

โ€œIt’s really good news,โ€ report co-chairman Paul Newman, chief Earth scientist at NASA‘s Goddard Space Flight Center, told theย Associated Press. โ€œIf ozone-depleting substances had continued to increase, we would have seen huge effects. We stoppedย that.โ€

That said, the ozone layer still has a long road to complete recovery. If progress continues, the Northern Hemisphere and mid-latitude ozone should be healed by the 2030s, followed by the Southern Hemisphere in the 2050s and polar regions by 2060, according to theย study.

โ€œI don’t think we can do a victory lap until 2060,โ€ Newman added to the AP. โ€œThat will be for our grandchildren toย do.โ€

Notably, scientists have recently detected aย mysterious riseย of CFCs out of easternย Asia.

Newman also pointed out to the AP that the refrigerants that are currently being used also need to be replaced themselves with chemicals that do not worsen globalย warming.

Next year, the Montreal Protocol is set to be strengthened with the ratification of theย Kigali Amendment, which slashes climate-warming gases in refrigerators, air conditioners and relatedย products.

Still, the new report is โ€œan inspiration for more ambitiousย climateย action to halt a catastrophic rise in world temperatures,โ€ the UN said in aย press releaseย of the new report, adding the findings โ€œprovide a ray of hopeโ€ less than a month after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released itsย dire reportย urging drastic action to stave off catastrophic climateย change.

The writers of the new report said that with the full implementation of the Kigali Amendment, the world can avoid up to 0.4 percent of global warming this century, meaning that it will play a major role in keeping the global temperature rise belowย 2ยฐC.

โ€œThe Montreal Protocol is one of the most successful multilateral agreements in history for a reason,โ€ Erik Solheim, head of UN Environmentย statedย in the press release. โ€œThe careful mix of authoritative science and collaborative action that has defined the Protocol for more than 30 years and was set to heal our ozone layer is precisely why the Kigali Amendment holds such promise for climate action inย future.โ€

Main image:ย A view of Earth’s atmosphere from space.ย Credit: NASA, publicย domain

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