International Day for Preservation of the Ozone Layer relevant for us

For reasons of gravitation or magnetism, this is the weaker sphere of protective gas cover over the earth’s surface.

With the drought now raging in East Africa, plus the massive flooding in the region and elsewhere experienced over the past year, we don’t have to look at New York streets being turned into rivers to gauge the global threat of climate change.

The ozone layer was the lynchpin of trouble in that, even as progress has been made in that direction, earth warming remains a threat.

Thus the United Nations General Assembly set out September 16 as International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.

The designation was made on December 19, 2000 in commemoration of the date, in 1987, when various countries signed what is known as the Montreal Protocol to recognize the dangers of substances that deplete the ozone layer.

The protocol helped with efforts leading up to the closure of the hole in the ozone layer 30 years after it was signed, by cutting the number of particularly destructive gases to a minimum.

Scientists say that, owing to the nature of the gases responsible for ozone depletion, the chemical effects are expected to continue being noticed for even as long as a century.

Technically, the ozone layer is a fragile shield of gas that protects the earth from the harmful portion of sun rays, thus helping preserve life on our planet.

It is said that the phasing out of controlled uses of ozone depleting substances and the related reductions have both helped protect the ozone layer for this and future generations and contributed significantly to global efforts to address climate change.

Human health and ecosystems gained protection by limiting harmful ultraviolet radiation from reaching the earth, clearly the thrust of creating a world day to remind ourselves of all this.

The Montreal Protocol helps keeping us as well as our food and vaccines cool – and the ozone layer safe.  It started as a global agreement meant to protect the all-important layer, a job it has done well, making it one of the most successful environmental pacts thus far.

A united global effort to phase out ozone-depleting substances means that the hole in the ozone layer is healing, which is in turn protecting human health, economies and ecosystems.

Phasing out hydroflourocarbons (HCFC) – gases that contain hydrogen, fluoride and carbon – was introduced in 1992 with a freeze in 2015 and a final phase-out by 2030 in the more developed countries and 2040 in developing countries.

In 2007, it was decided that the HCFC phase-out be accelerated with the Montreal Protocol and the Vienna Convention the only global treaties standing out as having gained universal ratification.

Come September 16, 2009, the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol became the first treaties in the history of the UN to achieve universal ratification.

The state parties to the Montreal Protocol reached agreement at their 28th meeting on October 15, 2016 to phase down HFCs. We in East Africa must see reason to do more in that regard too.