The progress is thanks to the 1989 global agreement to phaseout ozone-depleting chemicals (Picture: Nasa)
A UN-backed panel of experts has found Earth’s ozone layer could be completely healed within 40 years.
In a world of increasingly dire climate news, this assessment is a breath of rarified air.
On Monday, a scientific panel revealed that nearly 99% of ozone-depleting substances have been phased out since 1989.
The subsequent report, published every four years, confirms the success of the so-called Montreal Protocol and its resulting effect on stopping climate change.
By recovering the ozone layer in the upper stratosphere, humans will face less exposure to harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun and global warming will be reduced by 0.5 degrees Celsius.
‘The impact the Montreal Protocol has had on climate change mitigation cannot be overstressed,’ said Meg Seki, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Environment Programme’s Ozone Secretariat.
‘Over the last 35 years, the Protocol has become a true champion for the environment,’
The discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole was first announced in 1985 (Picture: Nasa)
‘The assessments and reviews undertaken by the Scientific Assessment Panel remain a vital component of the work of the Protocol that helps inform policy and decision makers.’
The report makes plain the positive impact the 1984 treaty has already had on the climate.
And it shows that, if we act, we can stop global warming from destroying the planet.
An additional 2016 agreement, known as the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, requires a phase-down of the production and consumption of many hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
HFCs do not directly deplete ozone but are powerful climate change gases. The Scientific Assessment Panel said this amendment is estimated to avoid 0.3–0.5°C of warming by 2100.
‘Ozone action sets a precedent for climate action,’ said WMO Secretary-General Professor Petteri Taalas.
‘Our success in phasing out ozone-eating chemicals shows us what can and must be done – as a matter of urgency – to transition away from fossil fuels, reduce greenhouse gases and so limit temperature increase.’
What is the Montreal Protocol?
A 2016 agreement, known as the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, addresses hydrofluorocarbons (Credit: Shutterstock)
The Montreal Protocol is a global agreement to protect the Earth’s ozone layer by phasing out the chemicals that deplete it.
The landmark agreement entered into force in 1989 and it is one of the most successful global environmental agreements.
The discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole was first announced in 1985.
If current policies remain in place, the ozone layer is expected to recover to 1980 values by around 2066 over the Antarctic, by 2045 over the Arctic and by 2040 for the rest of the world.
The Antarctic ozone hole has been slowly improving in area and depth since the year 2000.
Even last year, Nasa said that the Earth’s ozone layer continued to heal in 2022 with the annual Antarctic ozone hole shrinking to an average area of 23.2 million square kilometres between 7 September and 13 October.
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In a world of increasingly dire climate news, this assessment is a breath of rarified air.
