The United Nations (UN) announced that the ozone layer could fully recover within the next 40 years. The findings confirm that bans on ozone-depleting substances are having the desired effect and could prevent global warming of an estimated 0.3-0.5°C (0.54-0.9°F) by 2100.
The Montreal Protocol was adopted in September 1987 and remains a rare example of a UN agreement that has achieved universal ratification. The protocol identified about 100 substances that have a detrimental effect on the ozone layer and aimed to take measures to regulate the consumption and production of these substances.
These include chlorofluorocarbons, commonly known as CFCs, which were formerly found in aerosols. In order for them to be eliminated quickly, CFCs have often been replaced by alternative substances called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Although HFCs do not directly deplete the ozone layer, they do have a marked effect on global warming. Therefore, later changes to the protocol began to phase out their use as well.
Every 4 years, the Montreal Protocol Scientific Evaluation Panel on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer publishes a progress report, and this latest report gives us reason to be optimistic. The panel found that if current policies continue, the ozone layer will recover in most of the world by 2040, in the Arctic by 2045, and in Antarctica by 2066. This means that the layer will return to its state in 1980, before the famous ozone hole formed.
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