Numerous and diverse scientific studies confirmed during the last decades of the 20th century the depletion of the ozone layer. Faced with this serious environmental situation, the international community promoted different mechanisms of cooperation and action to take measures with the ultimate aim of protecting the ozone layer. In this context, the Montreal Protocol was born, one of the most important and successful environmental protocols that managed to reach agreement and raise awareness among political leaders and societies around the world. Thanks to the commitment of each and every one of the countries that signed the Montreal Protocol, the preservation of the ozone layer remains stable today, although it is important not to lower our guard and continue to carry out the important principles of the protocol of Montreal.
Continue reading this AgroCorrn article to learn more about the Montreal Protocol: what it is, participating countries and objectives .
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What is the Montreal Protocol
The Montreal Protocol is an international environmental agreement whose main foundation is based on the protection of the ozone layer. Its negotiation and drafting began on September 16, 1987 in the Canadian city of Montreal, following the previous celebration of the Vienna Convention for the protection of the ozone layer (signed by 28 countries, on March 22, 1985) .
Focused on the elimination of emissions of ozone-depleting substances (SACO) generated worldwide, the Montreal Protocol proposes different objectives to achieve the reduction in the production and consumption of these SACO substances, up to the partial elimination or total of them.
For you to go deeper into the relevance of this protocol and the environmental situation for which it was created, we recommend you read this other AgroCorrn article about Why the ozone layer is so important and this one about the Destruction of the ozone layer. ozone: definition, causes and consequences .
In the next sections of this article we will get to know the countries that signed the Montreal Protocol and we will delve into the environmental, political and social principles of said protocol.
Countries participating in the Montreal Protocol
Environmental leaders and officials from the 197 countries that signed the Montreal Protocol , met in the Canadian city to analyze and propose different measures that guarantee the protection of the ozone layer , as well as the reduction of greenhouse gases , some of the main causes of global warming of the Earth’s global.
Both the countries of the European Union and the Member States of Micronesia, as well as the member countries of the United Nations, were participants in this important protocol. Each and every one of them joined their efforts, initiatives and ambitions focused on the fulfillment of the different principles of the Montreal Protocol that we detail in the following section.
Objectives of the Montreal Protocol
The main objective of the Montreal Protocol , as we have already indicated before, is the protection of the ozone layer . For this, measures were proposed in order to optimally and efficiently control the total production worldwide of the different substances that deplete the ozone layer, that is, they intervene in a negative way in its maintenance and conservation.
Using the most advanced scientific knowledge and technological information, the measures established in the Montreal Protocol were structured according to the nature and characteristics of various groups of ozone-depleting substances . These groups of chemical substances were classified and listed in the annexes of the text drafted by the Montreal Protocol. In this way, the control of the production and consumption of almost 100 chemical substances was required , for whose gradual elimination, this protocol established a specific calendar.
The implementation of the objectives of the Montreal Protocol progressed satisfactorily in both developed and developing countries. The phase-out schedules for chemicals that deplete the ozone layer have been respected in the vast majority of cases, some even before the scheduled schedule, although others have not reached the expected rate of compliance. Due to the constant progress that characterized the Montreal Protocol, as early as 2003, it was considered by many experts as “the most successful international agreement to date”, thus becoming both the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol, the first treaties. and protocols in the history of the United Nations in achieving universal ratification.
Subsequently, in November 2017, the last of the Montreal Protocol measures, the so-called Kigali Amendment, was added with the aim of reducing both the production and consumption of the so-called hydrofluorocarbon gases (HFCs) and their products, generated mainly in the air conditioners and refrigerators. This amendment entered into force on January 1, 2019, specifically proposing the reduction of said HFC gases to 80%, thus avoiding the emission into the atmosphere of around 70 million tons of CO2 equivalent, between the years 2020 and 2050 .
To give you an idea of how you can contribute individually to the preservation of this vital layer on our planet, you can consult this other post on How to take care of the ozone layer and watch this video on our YouTube channel.
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