Why in the News?
World Ozone Day is celebrated on 16th September each year to commemorate the signing of the Montreal Protocol.
Key Points:
- 1985: Meteorologist Jonathan Shanklin found the ‘Ozone Hole’
- September 16, 1987: Montreal Protocol was signed by 46 countries to protect Ozone layer.
- The theme World Ozone Day 2022: “Global Cooperation to Protect Life on Earth”
About Montreal Protocol:
- The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (the Montreal Protocol) is an international agreement made in 1987.
- It was designed to stop the production and import of ozone-depleting substances and reduce their concentration in the atmosphere to help protect the earth’s ozone layer.
- Montréal protocol banned Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) used in AC/Fridge etc.
- Because they may be damaging to Ozone Layer. However, these chemicals were later replaced by hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
- HFCs do not damage the ozone layer but increase greenhouse gas/global warming.
Kigali Amendment:
- 2016: Kigali (the capital of Rwanda) amendment was adopted at the 28th meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol.
- It aims to ban/phaseout HFCs.