The ozone hole is closing. Confirmation from the United Nations
Environment — di Andrea Barolini
The indications provided by scientists in 2016 have been confirmed by a United Nations study: the ozone hole is closing.
The ozone hole is closing. Confirmation from the United Nations
The indications provided by scientists in 2016 have been confirmed by a United Nations study: the ozone hole is closing.
The trend is slow but now certain: the ozone hole really is closing. A sign that the measures adopted through the Montreal Protocol in 1987 are bearing fruit. This is confirmed by a report entitled Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion, published on 5 November by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), together with NOAA, NASA and the European Commission.
The ozone layer protects life on Earth from harmful levels of ultraviolet rays from the sun.
In parts of the stratosphere, it has recovered at a rate of 1-3% per decade since 2000, thanks to international cooperation - this is #ClimateAction success. bit.ly/2Qk0wYB
In parts of the stratosphere, it has recovered at a rate of 1-3% per decade since 2000, thanks to international cooperation - this is #ClimateAction success. bit.ly/2Qk0wYB
Complete closure of the ozone hole expected by 2060
"Since 2000, the ozone layer in certain parts of the stratosphere has recovered at a rate of between 1 and 3 per cent per decade. Projections indicate that ozone in the northern hemisphere and mid-latitudes should recover completely by 2030. The southern hemisphere will follow, around 2050, and finally the polar regions, by 2060," the United Nations explained in a press release.
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Geir Braathen, a scientific expert at the WMO, in an interview given to UN News attributed the success to the commitment and determination of governments around the world. The Montreal Protocol was indeed signed by 197 countries: "It was the first environmental agreement to achieve universal ratification," the researcher stressed.
The lesson of the Montreal Protocol: united, the world can win its battles
"That is why the agreement signed in Montreal in 1987 has been one of the most successful multilateral accords in history," added Erik Solheim, director of UNEP. "The mix of science and government action is the same as that contained in the Kigali amendment, which gives us good reason to hope for future climate action." The same nations that 30 years ago committed to tackling the ozone hole did indeed sign, in 2016, a historic agreement aimed at progressively phasing out the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), greenhouse gases 14,000 times more potent than CO2.
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The lesson offered by the Montreal Protocol should therefore serve as a point of reference for governments and the world's population. The Paris Agreement, reached at the end of 2015, also requires global support in order to be effective. That is why the backward steps taken by United States president Donald Trump and those threatened by his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro risk compromising a planetary battle on which the future of humanity depends.