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Numerous and diverse scientific studies confirmed during the last decades of the XX 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 an agreement and raise awareness among both 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 Green Ecologist article to learn more about the Montreal Protocol: what it is, participating countries and objectives.
What is the Montreal Protocol
The Montreal Protocol It 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, as a result of the previous celebration of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (signed by 28 countries, March 22, 1985).
Focused on eliminating emissions of ozone-depleting substances (SACO) generated worldwide, the Montreal Protocol proposes different objectives to achieve a reduction in the production and consumption of these SACO substances, until they are partially or totally eliminated.
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 article by Green Ecologist about Why the ozone layer is so important and this one about the Destruction of the 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 of the 197 countries that signed the Montreal Protocol, met in the Canadian city to analyze and propose different measures that guarantee the ozone layer protection, as well as the reduction of greenhouse gases, one of the main causes of global warming of the Earth's global warming.
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 ozone layer protection. 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 chemicals, for whose gradual elimination, this protocol established a specific timetable.
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 were 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 2022, the last of the Montreal Protocol measures was added, the so-called Kigali Amendment, with the aim of reducing both the production and the consumption of the so-called hydrofluorocarbon gases (HFCs) and its products, generated mainly in air conditioners and refrigerators. Said amendment entered into force on January 1, 2022, 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 2022 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.
If you want to read more articles similar to Montreal Protocol: what it is, participating countries and objectivesWe recommend that you enter our category of Projects, associations and NGOs.
Bibliography- Drafting EFE: Green (11/05/2018) The ozone layer, objective of the Montreal Protocol. EFE Agency: Green- Environment, UN.
- Montreal Protocol. United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
- International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, September 16. United Nations.
- Drafting EFE: Green (10/15/2016) HFC gases, new objective of the Montreal Protocol. EFE Agency: Green- Climate Change.
- Drafting EFE: Green (08/16/2018) Ecuador will host the thirtieth meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol. EFE Agency: Green- Climate Change.
