According to the results of a study conducted by researchers at the universities of Santa Cruz, Columbia and Exeter (United States), the Treaty of Montreal would not only have preserved the ozone layer. The latter would also have served to slow global warming, reports the Huffington Post on Monday.
It is in the scientific journal PNAS that the conclusions of this study were published. They highlight the positive effects of the Treaty of Montreal, signed in 1987. But that's not all.
The first Arctic summer without ice delayed
According to scientists, it would have delayed the first ice-free summer in the Arctic by 15 years. The latter is currently scheduled for mid-century, but without the initiatives taken following the signing of this treaty, it could have taken place much earlier.
The Treaty of Montreal was put in place after the discovery of a hole in the ozone layer in 1985. Year after year, it has continued to grow, prompting governments to act. That is why, in 1987, many countries committed themselves to reducing their use of chlorofluorocarbons. This gas had been used since 1930 in everyday products.
A universal treaty
In 2009, the Montreal Protocol became the first environmental treaty to achieve universal ratification. The hole is also closing. And that's not all, because the researchers explained that "the Montreal Protocol was a very powerful climate protection treaty and that it did much more than heal the ozone hole over the South Pole."
Products that depleted the ozone layer also had an effect on the climate, which explains the phenomenon. Their reduction made it possible to avoid a very powerful greenhouse effect. Without it, the planet and the Arctic Circle would have warmed by 0.5°C and an additional 1°C respectively by 2050.
- Planet
- Arctic
- Global warming
- Montreal
- Ozone