Wednesday 18 November 2015
Collated Research Reveals Full Scale of Montreal Protocol's Ozone Layer Repair Work
UNEP NEWS CENTRE
Dubai, 4 October 2015 - Research published today at a meeting of the Montreal Protocol in Dubai reveals the serious human health and economic consequences averted by concerted and coordinated global action on the protecting the ozone layer.
Synthesis of the 2014 Reports of the Scientific, Environmental Effects, and Technology & Economic Assessment Panels of the Montreal Protocol confirms that stratospheric ozone has stabilized and the ozone layer is healing.
The ozone layer will have recovered to pre-1980 levels by around 2060-eighty years after Nature magazine published research unveiling the link between manmade chemicals and the degradation of the Earth's ozone layer.
As a result of this research, the Montreal Protocol was signed in 1987, prompting nations to phase out ozone-depleting substances.
However, the report says it will take another 60 years for all of the health impacts, in terms of cataracts and skin cancer, to be reversed.
The report also notes outstanding issues that remain in the protection of the ozone layer, and the consequences of the introduction of some substitutes for Ozone Depleting Substances, which can contribute to climate change.
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are replacements for ODS, could jeopardize the substantial climate benefits achieved through the Montreal Protocol.
BENEFITS OF MONTREAL PROTOCOL
Health
According to new models released by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Montreal Protocol and its amendments provide the following health benefits for those born between 1890 and 2100 in the United States:
- 283 million cases of skin cancer prevented, 8.3 million of which are melanoma.
- 1.6 million deaths from skin cancer prevented.
- 46 million cases of cataracts prevented.
Economy
Among the economic benefits of the Montreal Protocol are savings in healthcare costs. Reducing the number of skin cancer cases could save billions of dollars across the globe. In the United States alone, research published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in November 2014 revealed that the average cost of treating 4.9 million adults for any skin cancer each year reached $8.1 billion between 2007 and 2011.
Climate
The Montreal Protocol has so far averted estimated emissions of over 135 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
TIMELINE OF KEY EVENTS
1974 - Rowland and Molina predicted that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) would destroy the ozone layer. At peak, world production was ~1 million tonnes/year.
1985 - The Antarctic ozone 'hole' was discovered. Surface levels of UV radiation increased over southern latitudes.
1987 - The Montreal Protocol to protect the ozone layer was signed.
Mid-1990s - Levels of ODS in the atmosphere stopped increasing.
Today - Ozone levels are showing signs of recovery - the ozone hole is not getting any worse.
2060 - Ozone levels and surface UV radiation will have normalized.
2080 - The health impacts will finally have reversed.
For more information, please contact:
Shereen Zorba, UNEP Head of News and Media at unepnewsdesk@unep.org, +254 788 526 000 and Dan Teng'o, Ozone Secretariat Communications Officer at dan.tengo@unep.org, +254 709 023 532
http://unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx?DocumentID=26854&ArticleID=35539&l=en
Precious Ozone - The Climate Connection: Watch the Video.
Estimated Green House gas saving from the Montreal Protocol between 1990-2010 is 135 GtCO2.
Precious Ozone - The Climate Connection: Watch the Video.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/Yo8XNMNj1VM
Tuesday 17 November 2015
All about the Informal Prior-Informed Consent (iPIC)
- Trinidad and Tobago is an avid participant of the iPIC system and has prevented some potential illegal trade using this mechanism
- Remember all imports and exports of refrigerant and related parts and equipment require a license from the Ministry of Trade and Industry
- All imports must have a license PRIOR to it landing into Trinidad and Tobago
Wednesday 11 November 2015
Webinar on: Green Cooling Technologies – Reducing Emissions from Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Sectors
The National Ozone Unit wishes to inform that GCI has a Climate Technology Centre & Network (CTCN) webinar on Wednesday 25th November 2015.
We kindly ask you to share the link accordingly.
Green Cooling Technologies – Reducing Emissions from Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Sectors
Date and
time:
Wednesday 25 November 2015 - 2:00pm CET (9 am Trinidad and Tobago time)
Organiser:
Join the CTCN Consortium Partner, GIZ, for
this webinar on refrigeration and air-conditioning technologies. Refrigeration
and air conditioning are responsible for a significant share of the global
greenhouse gas emissions. Especially in developing and emerging countries, the
demand for cooling equipment is rising. Low levels of efficiency and high
leakage rates of refrigerant gases with high global warming potential will
increase these emissions drastically.
The objective of this webinar is to explain
the complexity and link of cooling technologies to national mitigation strategies
in regard to energy efficiency, energy supply, refrigerant use and the transfer
of environmentally friendly technologies in the refrigeration and air
conditioning sectors to and within developing countries.
The webinar will have a duration of one hour, followed by 30 minutes of "questions and answers" between participants and the presenter.
Opening speech by CTCN, N.N.
Presenters: The webinar is presented by four experts from the European Commission, United Nations
Environment Programme and the German Development Agency GIZ:
- Patrick Blake is a Policy Expert at the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). He works on the UNEP – GEF
en.lighten and United for Efficiency (U4E) initiatives, which support
countries in the transition to energy efficient lighting, appliances and
equipment.
- Philipp Denzinger is leading global projects on
green cooling technologies. In his work he works with various partner
countries on the promotion of climate-friendly technology transfer.
- Johanna Gloël is a consultant of HEAT GmbH and
works for GIZ Proklima on various projects. She is an expert on global
market development and mitigation potential in the refrigeration,
air-conditioning and foam sector.
- Cornelius Rhein works at the European Commission
DG Climate Action and was involved in the development of the EU Regulation
on fluorinated greenhouse gases and follows actively the negotiations of
an HFC amendment of the Montreal Protocol.
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