UNEP official: Implementation of Montreal Protocol led to phasing out 99% of ozone depleting substances
To date, the global implementation of the Montreal Protocol has led to the phase-out of ...
UNEP official: Implementation of Montreal Protocol led to phasing out 99% of ozone depleting substances
To date, the global implementation of the Montreal Protocol has led to the phase-out of 99 percent of ozone depleting substances. This corresponds to the reduction of approximately 12.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, since most of ODSs are also powerful greenhouse gases, said Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program Elizabeth Maruma Mrema.
Assuming continued compliance with the Protocol, Antarctic ozone is expected to return to its pre-1980 state by around 2066 and globally by mid-century, she highlighted.
This is giving the planet some vital breathing space.
“As the ozone layer is recovering, we have learnt more about how it provides a crucial role and contributes in mitigating the worst effects of climate change,” she said.
“By the end of the century, hurrah! the healthy ozone layer should help us avoid an additional 0.5–1.0°C of globally averaged surface warming, by protecting the terrestrial carbon sink from ultraviolet radiation damage,” she added.
“Certainly, we can do more. Thanks to the Kigali Amendment, which focuses on phasing down hydrofluorocarbons,” she said.
On the World Ozone Day this September, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reminded the world that the Kigali Amendment “can contribute to advancing climate mitigation efforts, protecting people and planet. . . If fully ratified and implemented, the Kigali Amendment could help avoid as much as 0.5 degrees Celsius of global heating by the end of this century.”
“If that HFC phase-down is accompanied by energy efficiency enhancement in the cooling sector, we could even double the climate benefit to 1.0°C,” he said.
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