Improved outlook on ozone layer gives hope

An influential panel of UN-backed scientists said airborne chemicals that have been destroying the ozone layer are now in decline for the first time, which could help repair the crucial layer that protects humans from the sun's most harmful rays.

The report, released by the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization on Monday, showed that there has been a thickening of the ozone layer — a part of the atmosphere up to 29 kilometers high that absorbs harmful ultraviolet rays and blocks them from the Earth's surface.

Scientists believe that by 2040, the ozone layer worldwide could be on track to switch back to levels not seen since the 1980s, and by 2066 over Antarctica, where it had declined so much it had left a hole above the South Pole.

For decades, climate change activists have warned that the ozone layer was being depleted due to the increased use of harmful chemicals.

The chemicals damaged a crucial part of the atmosphere that protects humans from excess ultraviolet rays that can cause skin cancer and eye damage in humans. Ozone also protects plants from damage, enabling them to grow and store carbon dioxide in their leaves.

In the past few decades, several steps have been taken to aid in the restoration of the ozone layer. One of them is the Montreal Protocol, which came into force in 1989, and was approved by every country worldwide.

It outlaws the manufacturing of chemicals that destroy the ozone when they mingle in the atmosphere.

The chemicals include chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, which have ozone-depleting chlorine and were generally used in refrigerators, aerosols and air conditioners.

Contribution hailed

Scientists said in the report that China had largely eliminated emissions of one of those chemicals.

Less use of the 99-percent banned ozone-depleting substances has helped heal the ozone layer, the report said.

The report's findings were presented at the American Meteorological Society's 103rd annual meeting in Denver.

The research used data from the WMO, UNEP, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA and the European Commission.

WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement: "Our success in phasing out ozone-eating chemicals shows us what can and must be done — as a matter of urgency — to transition away from fossil fuels, reduce greenhouse gases and so limit temperature increase."

Thanu Yakupitiyage, communications director of 350 Action, wants to see the US government do even more to combat climate change.

"Achieving social and economic transformation means we need to see elected officials at all levels, committed to doing everything it takes to protect people and the planet, and it has to be a high priority for all elected officials," Yakupitiyage told China Daily.