Ozone layer recovery on track, according to UN
It has occurred ‘thanks to the collaborative effort of nations around the world’
THE OZONE layer is on track to recover within four decades, with the global phaseout of ozone-depleting chemicals already benefitting efforts to mitigate climate change, according to the UN.
This is the conclusion of a UN-backed panel of experts – the Scientific Assessment Panel to the Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances.
Their assessment report, published every four years, confirms the phase out of nearly 99% of banned ozone-depleting substances.
The Montreal Protocol – which achieved this – has thus succeeded in safeguarding the ozone layer, leading to notable recovery in the upper stratosphere and decreased human exposure to harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun.
“If current policies remain in place, the ozone layer is expected to recover to 1980 values (before the appearance of the ozone hole) by around 2066 over the Antarctic, by 2045 over the Arctic and by 2040 for the rest of the world,” noted the UN.
Variations in the size of the Antarctic ozone hole, particularly between 2019 and 2021, were driven largely by meteorological conditions, they state.
Nevertheless, the Antarctic ozone hole has been slowly improving in area and depth since the year 2000.
“That ozone recovery is on track according to the latest quadrennial report is fantastic news,” said Meg Seki, executive secretary of the United Nations Environment Programme’s Ozone Secretariat.
“The impact the Montreal
Protocol has had on climate change mitigation cannot be overstressed.
“Over the last 35 years, the Protocol has become a true champion for the environment.
“The assessments and reviews undertaken by the Scientific Assessment Panel remain a vital component of the work of the Protocol that helps inform policy and decision makers.”
Impacts on climate change
The 10th edition of the Scientific Assessment Panel reaffirms the positive impact that the treaty has already had for the climate.
An additional 2016 agreement, known as the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, requires phase down of production and consumption of many hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). HFCs do not directly deplete ozone, but are powerful climate change gases, notes the UN.
The Scientific Assessment Panel said this amendment is estimated to avoid 0.3–0.5°C of warming by 2100 (this does not include contributions from HFC-23 emissions).
“Ozone action sets a precedent for climate action,” said World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) secretary-general Prof. Petteri Taalas.
“Our success in phasing out ozone-eating chemicals shows us what can and must be done – as a matter of urgency – to transition away from fossil fuels, reduce greenhouse gases and so limit temperature increase.”
The latest assessment has been made based on extensive studies, research and data compiled by a large international group of experts, including many from the WMO, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and European Union.
The Montreal Protocol is a global agreement to protect the Earth’s ozone layer by phasing out the chemicals that deplete it. The landmark agreement entered into force in 1989 and it is one of the most successful global environmental agreements.
“Thanks to the collaborative effort of nations around the world, the ozone layer is on its way to recovery and many environmental and economic benefits have been achieved,” notes the UN.