Ozone for life: 35 years of ozone layer protection

This year, we celebrate 35 years of the Vienna Convention and 35 years of global ozone layer protection. Life on Earth would not be possible without sunlight. But the energy emanating from the sun would be too much for life on Earth to thrive were it not for the ozone layer. This stratospheric layer shields Earth from most of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation. Sunlight makes life possible, but the ozone layer makes life as we know it possible.

So, when scientists working in the late 1970s discovered that humanity was creating a hole in this protective shield, they raised the alarm. The hole – caused by ozone-depleting gases (ODSs) used in aerosols and cooling, such as refrigerators and air-conditioners – was threatening to increase cases of skin cancer and cataracts, and damage plants, crops, and ecosystems.

The global response was decisive. In 1985, the world’s governments adopted the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer. Under the Convention’s Montreal Protocol, governments, scientists and industry worked together to cut out 99 per cent of all ozone-depleting substances. Thanks to the Montreal Protocol, the ozone layer is healing and expected to return to pre-1980 values by mid-century. In support of the Protocol, the Kigali Amendment, which came into force in 2019, will work towards reducing hydrofluorocarbon (HFCs), greenhouse gases with powerful climate warming potential and damaging to the environment.

World Ozone Day, held on September 16, celebrates this achievement. It shows that collective decisions and action, guided by science, are the only way to solve major global crises. In this year of the coronavirus pandemic that has brought such social and economic hardship, the ozone treaties’ message of working together in harmony and for the collective good is more important than ever. The slogan of the day, ‘Ozone for life’, reminds us that not only is ozone crucial for life on Earth, but that we must continue to protect the ozone layer for future generations.

The Ozone Secretariat at UN is inviting all of you to join in celebrating the Vienna Convention which brought about the Montreal Protocol to protect the ozone layer. With the Kigali Amendment now in force, the Montreal Protocol will contribute even more to the fight against global warming and environmental protection.

The theme and tagline of this year’s World Ozone Day in all the six official UN languages are posted on this website for wider dissemination.

To support your World Ozone Day communication activities, the Secretariat has developed four posters in all the six official UN languages. Please download them from the website for use in your commemorative activities.

UNEP would also be pleased to receive any materials for your planned commemoration of World Ozone Day 2020 to be featured on our website.

As in previous years, the United Nations Secretary-General’s message for World Ozone Day and other materials will be shared prior to the day for further dissemination.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Secretariat for any clarification. More information HERE