Finally some good news from the environment. The ozone layer – which protects us from the sun’s harmful radiation – is slowly healing, the…
Finally some good news from the environment.
The ozone layer – which protects us from the sun’s harmful radiation – is slowly healing, the United Nations announced Monday.
“It’s really good news,” said NASA scientist Paul Newman, co-author of the U. N. report.
Over the northern half of the world, the layer should be completely repaired by the 2030s, the report said. The good news is due to decades of worldwide cooperation to phase out ozone-depleting chemicals.
“If ozone-depleting substances had continued to increase, we would have seen huge effects. We stopped that,” Newman said. If nothing had been done to stop the thinning, the world would have destroyed two-thirds of its ozone layer by 2065, he said.
The infamous ozone hole over Antarctica is also recovering, although it will continue to occur each year until the 2060s. (Ozone will take longer to heal in the southern half of the world.)
The ozone layer is located up in the stratosphere some 7 to 25 miles above Earth’s surface, according to NASA. It acts like sunscreen, shielding the planet from ultraviolet radiation that can cause skin cancer and cataracts, suppress immune systems and damage plants.
The naturally occurring ozone high up in the atmosphere is the “good” ozone and is in contrast to the “bad” ozone near the surface, which is man-made pollution that can cause respiratory problems.
Scientists first discovered the dramatic thinning in Earth’s protective ozone layer in the 1970s and determined the production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), used in refrigerators and aerosol sprays, caused the problem.
In the late 1980s, 196 countries signed the Montreal Protocol, a treaty that limited production of CFCs around the world. Businesses soon came up with safer alternatives for spray cans and refrigerators.
Scientists say the way humanity tackled the ozone problem also provides a template for how we can counteract human-caused global warming.
“The Montreal Protocol is one of the most successful multilateral agreements in history for a reason,” said Erik Solheim, head of the United Nations Environment Programme. “The careful mix of authoritative science and collaborative action that has defined the protocol for more than 30 years and was set to heal our ozone layer is precisely why the Kigali Amendment holds such promise for climate action in the future,” he said in a statement.
The Kigali Amendment calls for slashing the future use of powerful climate-warming gases known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in refrigerators, air conditioners and cars.
“Carbon dioxide emissions remain by far the most important greenhouse gases which are driving global warming,” said World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. “But we can also help tackle climate change by reducing our commitment to other gases, including HFCs. Every bit of warming matters,” he said.
Contributing: The Associated Press
