WORLD
UN: EFFORTS TO SAVE OZONE LAYER A SUCCESS
Baku, September 17 (AZERTAC). A new report released on Thursday says international efforts to protect the ozone layer are a success and have stopped additional ozone losses. The joint World Meteorological Organization and U.N. Environment Program report is the first comprehensive update in four years.
The ozone layer protects life on Earth from harmful levels of ultraviolet rays. Scientists say the shield was thinning during the latter part of the 20th century because of ozone depleting chemicals, such as chlorofluorocarbons found in refrigerants and aerosol sprays.
To save the ozone layer, the international community signed the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, which went into effect in 1989. The treaty calls for phasing out production and consumption of ozone depleting substances.
World Meteorological Organization Research Department Director Len Barrie says the treaty is working.
"It has protected us from severe ozone depletion over the past decade, global ozone, including ozone in the polar regions," Barrie said. "It is no longer decreasing, but not yet increasing. There is, secondly, new information about the two-way link between ozone depletion and ozone processes, et cetera, and climate change. This is a very important advancement in our knowledge."
The report says many substances that deplete the ozone layer also are potent greenhouse gases. Therefore, it says, the Montreal Protocol has provided substantial benefits by reducing climate change.
Atmospheric Environment Research Division Senior Scientific Officer Geir Broothen of the World Meteorological Organization says the ozone layer is projected to return to 1980 levels by the middle of this century.