"Historic" ozone agreement reached
Monday, 24 Sep 2007 16:45
The agreement will improve the world's ozone layer
Science In Focus
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Governments have agreed to accelerate efforts to phase out chemicals which harm both the ozone and the Earth's climate.
Nations meeting at the 20th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol said they would work to freeze and phrase out hydrochlorflurocarbons (HCFCs) following evidence that the chemicals contribute to global warming.
HCFCs began to take over from CFCs in the 1990s as a seemingly more environmentally-friendly temporary alternative and are used in air conditioning, some forms of refrigeration and foams.
Originally due to be phased out in 2030 by developed countries and in 2040 by developing ones, use of HCFCs will now be frozen in 2013 and phased out ten years earlier.
This acceleration is thought to assist in restoring the health of the ozone layer, protective gas that filters out damaging levels of ultra violet light, by a few years.
Commenting on the agreement, UN environment programme executive director Achim Steiner said it was an "important and quick win" for tackling climate change.
"Historic is an often over-used word but not in the case of this agreement made in Montreal. Governments had a golden opportunity to deal with the twin challenges of climate change and protecting the ozone layer – and governments took it," he added.
"The precise and final savings in terms of greenhouse gas emissions could amount to several billions of tonnes illustrating the complementarities of international environmental agreements."