16 September 2007: 20 years of the Montreal ProtocolThis post was supposed to be for Blog Action Day on 15 October, but I could not make it for Monday because I have been extremely swamped and buried in paper! But since I have made that promise to post something, here is my small contribution to this day, a post about something close to my heart.
During the second week of September, I became part of an historic event in the area of environmental protection: the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Montreal Protocol for Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. More than just a celebration, the countries who gathered together in Montreal to commemorate the signing of the Montreal Protocol proved their continued commitment to ozone layer protection by agreeing to a faster phase out of another set of ozone depleting substances called HCFCs.
In the last twenty years, so much has been accomplished by this treaty. Studies have in fact shown that the Montreal Protocol has phased out, in its lifetime, a large volume of greenhouse gases (CFCs are also greenhouse gases) therefore is also a large contributor to the fight against climate change!
The Protocol is also the only multilateral environmental agreement that has a dedicated financial mechanism backing it, the Multilateral Fund.
These subjects come easy to me, I have been working in this area for the longest time, but I thought writing about this could perhaps bring people's attentions to something completely ubiquitous in our daily lives that we do not know that it affects something that our future generations will probably have to suffer from.
The ozone layer is a very thin layer of gas that protects the planet from dangerous ultra violet radiation from the sun. When my kids were very young, I explained to them that this could be like the umbrella over our heads that protect it from the sun. That little story has stuck with them because it was easier to imagine it. I am sure you can too.
A number of people do not think very much of ozone depletion as a major environmental problem. It is not as apparent as deforestation where images of vast areas of denuded forests portrays something very real. Nor is it like looking at solid waste where a picture of children swimming happily in floating garbage and debris in river bodies evokes empathy from readers or spectators.
But it is a problem that is as real as those narrated above, only it is more abstract. The ozone layer problem has been portrayed by the size of a "hole" that appears on either of the poles during spring time, and on measurements of ozone gas in the stratosphere. Its depletion causes stunting growth of plants and can affect other living organisms as well. People can get skin cancer from increased UV radiation.
So what are ozone depleting gases? These are the the gases that are in our refrigerators and air conditioners as the coolants (it is also known as freon), the chemical that is used to blow foam for our mattresses and chairs, the substances used in dry cleaning applications, and even those that are in our portable fire extinguishers, and the chemical used to treat soil for vegetable cultivation and food storage in many countries.
Everyday we encounter ozone depleting gases and yet we are not aware of it.
The Montreal Protocol works towards reducing and finally eliminating the use of these substances. In 2010, for instance, because countries have signed onto this treaty, there will hopefully be no more CFCs in the market in developing countries and whatever one sees will be those that are traded illegally or smuggled. Developed countries completed their elimination of CFCs way back in 2000.
HCFCs on the other hand, were initially treated as "transition gases" meaning in a number of CFC applications especially on the use for foam blowing, HCFCs were used as an alternative gas to allow for ending CFC use. Most domestic air conditioners contain HCFC. Think about the sheer numbers of these air conditioners in countries like India and China, not to mention the rest of the world! But the Protocol also included the phase out of these substances, although this was not until 2040 for developing countries.
In Montreal last month, there was a flurry of activity mostly on the corridors of the Palais de Congres where discussions and negotiations were going on about how to eliminate HCFC's faster. Many developing countries were quite concerned about how this acceleration in the phase out date would affect their economies and their industries. By 9 pm on 21 September, the working group on HCFCs finally came to a consensus, and the closing plenary could begin.
I have been involved in many of these discussions in the last 13 years of my working life, but what really struck me at the closing plenary of the Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol was the statement made by the head of the Chinese delegation. China was one of the countries that needed to negotiate really hard for this adjustment, or rather against it. They are the largest consumer and producer of HCFCs in developing countries.
He emphasised the fact that moving up the deadline for the phase out of this latest substance was something that would mean sacrifices in order to achieve these goals. He said it could mean the loss of jobs for many people in some industries, and stressed that he was somehow going to be a bearer of bad news back home. Despite all these, he mentioned that China realises how important this new control measure is, and that their support is unwavering, for the protection of the ozone layer. This sentiment was echoed by many developing countries in the hall.
The plenary closed at 11:00 pm that night, but despite the fatigue clear in everyone's demeanour, we all felt quite in a celebratory mood. We achieved something important that week, in the end, that was all that mattered.
It was a long and difficult week, but it is during these times that I feel that my job is really worthwhile, and being among people and old friends and colleagues whom I have worked with and shared a commitment for ozone protection, I feel a sense of having achieved something, and contributed to something that I often take for granted because it is something I do everyday.
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