This article is written by Ms. Kishita Gupta from Unitedworld School of Law, Karnavati University, Gandhinagar. This article deals with the role of the Montreal Protocol in dealing with the issue of ozone depletion.

Introduction 

The Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer was signed in 1987 as part of the Vienna Convention. It was created to help safeguard the earth’s ozone layer by halting the manufacturing and import of ozone-depleting compounds and lowering their concentration in the atmosphere. Following international discussion of scientific discoveries in the 1970s and 1980s highlighting the deleterious effect of human activities on ozone levels in the stratosphere and the discovery of the “ozone hole,” the Vienna Convention was approved in 1985. Its goals are to encourage collaboration on the harmful impacts of human activities on the ozone layer.

The problem of ozone depletion – a brief overview 

For most of this century, scientists have been studying the stratospheric ozone layer. However, it gained practical significance in the early 1970s, when numerous ideas suggested that human activities were to blame for its depletion. One of these studies suggested that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other comparable compounds were responsible for ozone depletion. Following studies, most people believe that ozone depletion caused by these substances has been established and that if they are not outlawed, catastrophic repercussions will follow. CFCs and other halogenated chemicals are being phased out of manufacture as a result.

The ozone layer is critical because it protects the world from the sun’s harmful UV-B radiation reaching the earth’s surface. If this radiation reaches the earth, it will kill all life on the planet, including humans. The miraculous chemicals discovered by man, known as CFCs, are to blame for the rapid depletion. It is increasingly being detected at the ground level as a result of higher ozone depletion and ground pollution, which is also dangerous. More UV-B means more melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers, poorer immune systems, lower plant yields, harm to ocean ecosystems, lower fishing returns, negative effects on animals, and more harm to plastics.

The Montreal Protocol – an insight 

The Montreal Protocol on chemicals that deplete the ozone layer is the most comprehensive and successful international environmental treaty ever. Since its inception in 1987, the Montreal Protocol has undergone considerable revisions in response to new scientific findings on the extent of ozone layer damage. Many additional chemicals have been added to the Protocol’s list of banned substances. Strong commitments from governments and businesses around the world have resulted in a breakthrough in alternative technology development. These reasons have resulted in a more strict phase-out timetable than the one established in 1987.

The original agreement called for cutting production and consumption of many types of chlorofluorocarbons CFCs and halons to 80% of 1986 levels by 1994 and 50% of 1986 levels by 1999. On January 1, 1989, the protocol entered into effect. Since then, the agreement has been updated to minimize and phase out CFCs and halons, as well as the production and use of carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethane, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), hydro Bromo fluoro carbons steady-state (HBFCs), methyl bromide, and other ODCs. Following that, a series of meetings of the signing countries were held to track overall progress toward this target and to approve new amendments to the ODC phase-out procedure.

The Montreal Protocol, which was signed in 1987, is regarded as a watershed moment in worldwide scientific cooperation. The Protocol has been dubbed “The Little Treaty That Could” by the New York Times, and even the sectors controlled by it tout its preventative benefits. By 2065, ozone-depleting compounds such as (CFCs) and other ozone-depleting gases could have destroyed two-thirds of the stratospheric ozone layer.

It’s worth noting that the schedules for phase-out of ODCs varied between industrialized and developing countries. Because underdeveloped countries have fewer technological and financial resources to introduce substitutes, the time it takes them to comply is slightly longer. Halons were legally phased out of manufacture and consumption in industrialized nations by 1994, and several additional compounds were phased out by 1996. Methyl bromide was phased out in 2005, and HCFCs are slated to be phased out completely by 2030. Developing countries, on the other hand, phased out CFCs, carbon tetrachloride, methyl chloroform, and halons by 2010, and methyl bromide by 2015, with HCFCs to be phased out by coming years.

Montreal Protocol – successes

1. The Montreal Protocol has been most effective in achieving its aim of restoring the harm done to the ozone layer, thanks to universal ratification and a time-bound legal framework.
2. It is often regarded as the greatest effective worldwide environmental initiative ever undertaken by a country.
3. The Protocol has been successful in bringing atmospheric concentrations of the most significant chlorofluorocarbons and associated chlorinated hydrocarbons to a steady-state or lowering them.
4. Although halon concentrations have increased, the rate of increase has slowed, and by 2020, halon concentrations are predicted to drop.
5. The Protocol has successfully communicated clear messages to the worldwide marketplace.
6. The Montreal Protocol’s complete adoption is predicted to prevent almost 280 million cases of skin cancer, about 1.6 million deaths from skin cancer, and millions of cataract cases.
7. The ozone layer is anticipated to recover by 2050 as a result of the Protocol.
8. In comparison to 1990, parties to the Protocol have been able to phase out 98 percent of ODSs.
9. Because most ODSs are also greenhouse gases, the Protocol aids in the fight against climate change.
10. Between 1990 and 2010, the protocol is expected to have helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of 135 gigatons of carbon dioxide, or 11 gigatons per year.
11. The Protocol’s Kigali Amendment has aided in the reduction of HFC emissions and the slowing of global warming.

The Montreal Protocol has been effective in lowering ozone-depleting chemicals, as well as reactive chlorine and bromine, in the stratosphere. As a result, the ozone layer is beginning to reclaim its former glory. By the middle of the century, the ozone layer should be back to pre-1980 levels, and the Antarctic ozone hole should be gone by the 2060s. This is because ozone-depleting compounds remain in the atmosphere for many years after they are emitted, causing damage. Although the 2019 hole is the smallest since records began in 1982, ozone is also affected by temperature changes and dynamics in the atmosphere as a result of climate change as notified by UNEP.

India and the Montreal Protocol

The Montreal Protocol was signed by India in 1992. Following are the key points regarding the Montreal Protocol:

1. As an Article 5 country, India is eligible for Multilateral Fund assistance in its efforts to phase out ODSs and transition to non-ODS technology.
2. India primarily made and used seven of the Protocol’s twenty chemicals. CFC-11, CFC113, CFC-12, Halon-1301, Halon-1211, Carbon Tetrachloride, Methyl Bromide, and Methyl Chloroform are examples of these.
3. The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change is in charge of implementing the Montreal Protocol in India. To carry out the Protocol, the Ministry has established an Ozone Cell.
4. The MOEF has also established an Empowered Steering Committee, which is backed up by four standing committees: the Technology and Finance Standing Committee, the Standing Committee for Small Scale, Tiny and Unorganized Industries, the Standing Committee on ODS Phase-Out Project Implementation, and the Monitoring and Evaluation Committee. The Montreal Protocol provisions are implemented by the Empowered Steering Committee, which also reviews various policy and implementation options, approves projects, and monitors them.
5. Non-party countries are no longer allowed to trade in ODS. Enterprises that receive an ODS phase-out grant are required to report on their ODS use and progress toward ODS phase-out. The introduction of a standardized classification of commodity codes in accordance with the worldwide system has been made by the MOEF.
6. Following is the data available by the MOEF on the production & consumption control schedule as per Montreal protocol: 

The Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change has notified the Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000 in accordance with the National Strategy for ODS Phase Out.

• The use of CFCs in the manufacture of a variety of items is prohibited by law.
• They make it mandatory for ODS producers, sellers, importers, and stockists to register.

The Ministry has notified through a press release in January 2020 regarding the current contribution of India towards protection from ozone depletion. This is one of the first steps of this magnitude in the Montreal Protocol’s Article 5 (special status of developing nations) parties. The key points are as follows:

• The phase-out of the hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)-141 b has been completed in India. After chlorofluorocarbons, HCFC-141 b is one of the most powerful ozone-depleting compounds (CFCs).
• While phasing out ozone-depleting substances, India has consciously selected a path toward environmentally friendly and energy-efficient technologies (ODSs).
• Importantly, India is one of the few countries in the world that uses technology that is non-ozone depleting and has a low Global Warming Potential, and it is a pioneer in several cases (GWP).
• HCFC-141b is not produced in the country, hence imports are used to meet all local needs. The country has totally phased out the crucial ozone-depleting chemical with this notification forbidding the import of HCFC-141 b. Under the Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation and Control) Amendment Rules, 2014, the use of HCFC-141 b by the foam production industry was likewise prohibited as of January 1, 2020.
• The removal of HCFC-141b from the country has two environmental benefits: 
  • It aids the healing of the stratospheric ozone layer, and
  • It helps to mitigate climate change by transitioning foam manufacturing enterprises at this scale under the HPMP to low global warming potential alternative technologies.

Ozone depletion and current conditions 

As per the World Meteorological Department, the world-record-setting due to naturally occurring meteorological conditions and the continuous existence of ozone-depleting compounds in the atmosphere, the 2020 Antarctic ozone hole eventually closed at the end of December after an unprecedented season.

The Antarctic ozone hole in 2020 expanded fast starting in mid-August and peaked at roughly 24.8 million square kilometers on September 20, 2020, covering the majority of the continent.

It was powered by a powerful, steady, and frigid polar vortex, as well as unusually cold stratospheric temperatures (the layer of the atmosphere between around 10 km and around 50 km altitude). The same meteorological circumstances played a role in the record-breaking Arctic ozone hole in 2020.

The Montreal Protocol on compounds that deplete the ozone layer is a major multinational environmental agreement that limits the manufacture and consumption of approximately 100 compounds known as ozone-depleting substances (ODS). The ozone layer has progressively recovered since the halocarbon prohibition, and the data clearly show a trend in reducing the ozone hole area — subject to annual changes.

The most recent WMO/UNEP scientific assessment of Ozone Depletion report, released in 2018, stated that the ozone layer is on the mend, with ozone readings over Antarctica potentially returning to pre-1980 levels by 2060. This is due to the fact that compounds in the atmosphere have a long life span.

Conclusion 

As of 2020, the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol have been relatively successful in tackling the global problem of ozone depletion in the stratosphere. However, difficulties have developed in implementing the Protocol, particularly in the illegal trade in controlled substances, the management of vast stockpiles of prohibited substances, and the eradication of certain compounds including methyl bromide, carbon tetrachloride, and HCFCs.

Ozone-depleting compounds like R-22, a hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) present in many refrigeration and air conditioning systems, are yet to be phased out in several developing countries. They will need financial assistance, which the Protocol offers through its Multilateral Fund.

References

• https://legal.un.org/avl/ha/vcpol/vcpol.html

• https://public.wmo.int/en/resources/library/scientific-assessment-of-ozone-depletion-2018
• https://www.britannica.com/event/Montreal-Protocol 

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