International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, 16 September

On Sunday, 16 September, we celebrate the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, commemorating the date of the signing, in 1987, of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. This year’s theme of the international day is“HCFC phase-out: a unique opportunity”.

HCFCs  (hydrochlorofluorocarbons) are both ozone-depleting substances and powerful greenhouse gases: the most commonly used HCFC is nearly 2,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide in adding to global warming.  By agreeing to speed up the phase-out of HCFCs, Parties to the Montreal Protocol increased their already-substantial contributions to protecting the global climate system.

Member states and the public are invited to devote the Day to promote activities in accordance with the objectives of the Protocol and its amendments. The ozone layer, a fragile shield of gas, protects the Earth from the harmful portion of the rays of the sun, thus helping preserve life on the planet.

The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and its Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer are dedicated to the protection of the earths ozone layer. With 197 parties, they are the most widely ratified treaties in United Nations history, and have, to date, enabled reductions of over 97% of all global consumption of controlled ozone depleting substances (measured in ODP tonnes).

2012 marks the 25th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol.

Additional links:

• UN Website: International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer
• Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (resolution 49/114)
• UNEP Ozone Secretariat