Montreal Protocol has slowed down global warming: Study

At last, here8217;s some good news for everyone trying to save the planet from getting warmer.

At last, here8217;s some good news for everyone trying to save the planet from getting warmer. A recent study has found that the reduction in production and use of ozone-depleting substances as mandated by the Montreal Protocol is having a significant collateral benefit 8212; it has slowed down global warming by several years.

The study by scientists from the Netherlands and the United States has concluded that if the Montreal Protocol had not mandated an end to the use of ozone-depleting substances like chloro-fluoro carbons CFCs, the radiative warming of the climate by these substances would have been twice more than what it is today.

The study further reveals that the amount of warming thus avoided is equivalent to about 7-12 years of rise in the carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere. And the fact that the Montreal Protocol is not aimed at controlling global warming makes the study more significant. In fact it8217;s the Kyoto Protocol which targets the reduction of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases.

The Montreal Protocol 8212; which came into being in 1989 8212; is designed at phasing out CFCs and other chemicals that erode the ozone layer, thereby exposing the earth8217;s atmosphere to harmful ultra-violet radiations. But since these ozone-depleting substances also happen to be greenhouse gases, the Protocol has ensured that it has a positive impact on global warming as well.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences, is the first attempt at quantifying this impact. And as it turns out, Montreal Protocol has been found to be working even better than Kyoto in capping greenhouse gas emissions.

8220;We have found that the accomplished reductions in carbon dioxide equivalent emissions is five-six times larger than what Kyoto Protocol may accomplish by 2010,8221; Guus Velders of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency told The Indian Express.

Velders, along with Stephen Andersen of the US Environmental Protection Agency, is the lead the author of the study which was conducted between July and September last year.

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One of the biggest reasons why Montreal is proving to be much more effective than Kyoto, Velders said, is that it is truly universal in character. The Kyoto Protocol is handicapped because some key polluting countries, like the United States which is the single largest emitter of carbon dioxide and Australia have not ratified it.

8220;The Montreal Protocol would not have worked without global participation,8221; Velders said. 8220;To fight climate change, it is important that all countries take actions to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.8221;

Velders, however, said the implementation of Kyoto Protocol had inherent difficulties. 8220;Tackling climate change, requires change in the economies of the countries which was not the case with the Montreal Protocol,8221; he said.