Ozone Day: Global action for a cooler planet theme reaffirms climate urgency

Ozone Day: Global action for a cooler planet theme reaffirms climate urgency

RITURAJ PHUKAN

The theme for the commemorative Ozone Day observance this year is‘Global action for a cooler planet.’This evocative theme not only celebrates the Montreal Protocol and the transformative impact of its Kigali Amendment ten years after adoption but also throws a torch on the climate crisis.

A few global agreements have been as successful as the ‘Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer,’which was the first decisive step towards fixing the ‘ozone hole’.The International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, or World Ozone Day,commemoratesthe signing of the ‘Montreal Protocol’, and this year it also marks 35 years of the convention.

About 90% of Earth’s ozone resides in the stratosphere, whichabsorbs much of the Sun’s biologically harmful ultraviolet radiation, making it “good” ozone. By contrast, the ozone layerthat forms at ground level above natural concentrations is harmful to humans, plants, and animals.In the troposphere, ozone is formed by a different set of chemical reactions that involve naturally occurring gases as well as those from sources of air pollution.

Back in the 1970s scientists discovered that commonly used chemicals were damaging the protective shield of the stratospheric ozone layer that protects life on earth from most of the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation.

Unlike the dithering climate negotiations, the global response to the discovery of the hole in the ozone layer was swift.

The ‘Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer’ is the only treaty to be adopted by all Member States of the United Nations and its success offers hope for tackling the interconnected planetary crises of debilitating air pollution, runaway climate change and unprecedented biodiversity loss. Research has established that the ozone layer over Antarctica is healing and could potentially recover fully, perhaps within this century.

The UN General Assembly on 23.01.95 adopted a resolution 49/114 which proclaims 16th September as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, to commemorate the signing of the Montreal Protocol on the Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer which was signed on 16th September, 1987.

India become party to the Montreal Protocol in June 1992 and prepared the country program in 1993 for phasing out the Ozone Depleting Substances. Further, various policy measures including National Awareness Campaign have also been adapted for smooth implementation of provisions of the Montreal Protocol. The Ozone Cell, Government of India has been celebrating the International Ozone Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer since 1995 at the national and state level.

The phaseout of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) led to the temporary use of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). The subsequent phaseout of HCFCs led to expanded long-term use of HFCs, because HFCs pose no direct threat to the ozone layer.

However, HFCs are greenhouse gases and therefore contribute to climate change. Limiting the production and consumption of those HFCs with high global warming potentials is projected to avoid 0.3 to 0.5°C of global warming over this century. The Kigali Amendment of 2016 marked the first time the Montreal Protocol adopted regulations solely for the protection of climate.

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The Montreal Protocol demonstrated that science-based policy, universal participation, strong compliance, dedicated financing, and effective partnerships can deliver real and measurable results. Through these elements, the treaty has not only protected the ozone layer but also enabled countries and industries to transition to safer, more sustainable alternatives while supporting economic development.

The expected recovery of the global and polar ozone layer is a direct consequence of the success of the Montreal Protocol in reducing the global production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances.

The impacts of future climate change on the ozone layer will vary between the tropics, midlatitudes, and polar regions, and strongly depend on future emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. During the long recovery period, large volcanic eruptions could temporarily reduce global ozone amounts for several years.

It is obvious that without immediate drastic action, adapting to the impacts of the interconnected planetary crisesof climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution will be difficult and costly in the future. In the ‘Montreal Protocol’we have a successful model of international cooperation for quick, decisive, and dynamic action to address global challenges and the healing of the ‘ozone hole’ stands out as a beacon of hope for humanity.On ‘World Ozone Day’ let us call upon world leaders to take inspiration from the past andstrive towards a just, sustainable, and equitable model of development.

RITURAJ PHUKAN : Founder, Indigenous People’s Climate Justice Forum; Co-Founder, Smily Academy ;National Coordinator for Biodiversity, The Climate Reality Project India; Member, IUCN Wilderness Specialist Group; Commission Member – IUCN WCPA Climate Change, IUCN WCPA Connectivity Conservation, IUCN WCPA Indigenous People and Protected Areas Specialist Groups, IUCN WCPA South Asia Region and IUCN WCPA-SSC Invasive Alien Species Task Force; Member, International Antarctic Expedition 2013; Climate Force Arctic 2019 ; Ambassador, Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary. Rituraj Phukan is the Climate Editor, Mahabahu , Managing Editor –Mahabahu Mirror and  the Secretary cum Convenor, Mahabahu Climate Forum.

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