Well scientists and Governments came together in 1987 and implemented the Montreal Protocol Treaty to regulate substances such as chlorofluorocarbons that were increasing the ozone hole.
The ozone holes have been decreasing over the last two decades. We have it largely under control, but there is still decades to go before the ozone layer is recovered. But the work of the Montreal Protocol continues.
The Montreal Protocol remains the only international treaty ratified by every country on Earth.
It is meeting this week in Montreal. Here is a quick summary of the first day of 34th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (MOP34).
According to the Earth Negotiation Bulletin:
"Delegates hit the ground running on Monday. Participants exchanged views on many substantive issues, building on the work they carried out at the July meeting of the Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG 44).
"Parties opened and swiftly concluded discussion of future availability of halons and their alternatives. Several of the other items considered related to work by the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) and its Technical Options Committees (TOCs). This included an in-depth discussion of recommendations by the Methyl Bromide TOC (MBTOC) regarding nominations from three parties, South Africa, Canada, and Australia, for critical-use exemptions for methyl bromide for 2023 and 2024. The issue will be the focus of continued discussions in plenary later in the week."
Some important items discussed included on:
- Energy efficiency (including Dumping of New and Old Inefficient Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Appliances)
- Identification of Gaps in the Global Coverage of Atmospheric Monitoring of Controlled Substances and Options for Enhancing Such Monitoring
- Institutional Processes to Strengthen the Effective Implementation and Enforcement of the Montreal Protocol
- Ongoing Emissions of Carbon Tetrachloride
- Future Availability of Halons and their Alternatives
- Issues Related to Exemptions under Articles 2A—2I of the Montreal Protocol (This includes Nominations for Critical-Use Exemptions for Methyl Bromide for 2023 and 2024 by South Africa, Canada, and Australia. The Technical Committee recommended smaller amounts than nominated)
- Strengthening the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel and its Technical Options Committees for the Phase-Down of (Hydro Fluoro Carbons) HFCs and Other Future Challenges Related to the Montreal Protocol and the Climate
If you look up the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water website Methyl Bromide is a controlled substance in Australia used in quarantine for imported goods and for fumigation for some goods for export.
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/ozone/publications/methyl-bromide-fs
The Gossip from In the Corridors:
"Not even a Co-Chair’s joke about Montreal’s reputation for sudden snowstorms could dull participants’ enthusiasm as they gathered for the first in-person MOP since 2019: “It’s just not the same to be online,” one participant said. “It’s good to see each other and get things done.”
"As the Montreal Protocol marks its 35th anniversary, parties have much to celebrate. The Protocol is successfully reversing ozone layer depletion and is a paradigm of multilateral environmental governance. Still, much work remains, from continuing to prevent ozone depletion to strengthening links to the climate community. Others pointed to the need for generational renewal, worrying about the relative lack of young people in the venue, especially compared to climate or biodiversity processes. Some saw promise in the fact that an eighteen-year-old is among the 58 chapter authors who contributed to the book marking the Protocol’s 35th Anniversary, released at a festive lunch-time side event. “The curve in reductions has been steep, but we can’t let the momentum drop,” said one delegate, “and youth have to be part of that.”
And this was only the first day of 34th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (#MOP34)
https://enb.iisd.org/montreal-protocol-meeting-parties-ozone-mop34-daily-report-31-october-2022
NOAAreported on October 26, 2022 that the Antarctic ozone hole slightly smaller in 2022
“Over time, steady progress is being made and the hole is getting smaller,” said Paul Newman, chief scientist for Earth Sciences at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “We see some wavering as weather changes and other factors make the numbers wiggle slightly from day to day and week to week. But overall, we see it decreasing through the last two decades. Eliminating ozone-depleting substances through the Montreal Protocol is shrinking the hole.”
India Knowledge Network explains well the destruction of the ozone layer and the Montreal Protocol:
Lead Photo by IISD/ENB | Matthew TenBruggencate
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