Nairobi, Kenya – The United Nations said constant cooperation is required for more success of Montreal Protocol (ozone layer protecting treaty).
It will ensure the end of climate crisis and better future for earth, the UN noted on World Ozone Day, Friday, as the protocol turned 35.
The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) praised the Protocol’s success, as it ended the danger of ozone layer’s depletion, a threat for humanity.
The UNEP said the world came together when it found “ozone-depleting gases used in aerosols and cooling were creating a hole in the sky”.
It said the global cooperation worked, and the gases were eliminated. This healed the ozone layer which would save earth from sun’s ultraviolet radiations.
The action saved millions of people from skin cancer and cataracts, allowed vital ecosystems to thrive and shielded earth’s life, the UN body added.
The UNEP noted a global temperature rise of 2.5C was possible if the ozone-depleting chemicals weren’t banned, which would have been a ‘catastrophe’.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the Protocol was a success because everyone acted to counter the threat of climate change.
“The Montreal Protocol is a “reminder that we can succeed in working together for the common good,” said the UN chief.
Continued cooperation on Montreal Protocol can “stop the carbon pollution that is dangerously heating our world,” said Guterres.
“We have a choice: collective action or collective suicide,” he warned.
He noted the Protocol’s work to cut climate-heating gases and improve energy efficiency through its Kigali Amendment can further slow climate disruption.
UNEP said under the Kigali Amendment, nations have committed to eliminate hydrofluorocarbons – it could avoid up to 0.4 C of global temperature rise by the end of the century.
The Protocol and its Amendment are helping the world adopt climate friendly and energy-efficient cooling technology, it added.
What does this mean for humanity? UNEP said that if the nations protect the ozone layer, the Protocol will safeguard everyone on Earth.
“It also means a cooler planet as more countries ratify the Amendment. It means more people being able to access vital cooling technology without further warming the planet,” the organization added.
“Global cooperation to protect life on Earth is our best chance at a brighter future for everyone,” concluded UNEP.