International. This Wednesday, September 16, the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer is celebrated, a celebration that reaches the age of 35.
In 1985, the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer was adopted. Under the Montreal Protocol to the Convention, governments, scientists and industry commit to working together to eliminate 99 percent of all ozone-depleting substances. Thanks to this protocol, the ozone layer is recovering and is expected to return to pre-1980 values by mid-century. To support the Protocol, the Kigali Amendment, which came into force in 2019, works to reduce hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), greenhouse gases with high climate warming potential and harmful to the environment.
The International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer celebrates these achievements. In addition, it is a good example that collective decisions and actions, guided by science, are the only way to solve the great world crises. In this year of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has brought with it so many social and economic difficulties, the message of the treaties to save the ozone layer of working together and in harmony for the common good resonates more than ever and becomes a fundamental message these days. The motto of the day, "Ozone for Life," reminds us that ozone is not only crucial to life on Earth, but that we must continue to protect the ozone layer for future generations.
Vienna Convention on the Protection of the Ozone Layer
Scientific confirmation of ozone depletion prompted the international community to establish a cooperative mechanism to take measures to protect the ozone layer. This was formalized in the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, which was approved and signed by 28 countries on 22 March 1985. In September 1987, this led to the drafting of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
Montreal Protocol
The main objective of the Montreal Protocol is the protection of the ozone layer by taking measures to control the total global production and consumption of substances that deplete it, with the ultimate goal of eliminating them, based on the progress of scientific knowledge and technological information.
Implementation of the Montreal Protocol
Implementation of the Montreal Protocol has progressed well in both developed and developing countries. All elimination schedules have been respected in most cases, some even ahead of schedule. In view of the steady progress made under the Protocol, as early as 2003, former Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated: "Perhaps the most successful international agreement to date has been the Montreal Protocol". Their views are widely shared in the international community.
Universal ratification
On 16 September 2009, the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol became the first treaties in the history of the United Nations to achieve universal ratification.
Kigali Amendment
The Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer reached an agreement at their 28th Meeting of the Parties on 15 October 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda, to phase out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
Source: United Nations.
