This presentation provides comprehensive information about Ozone, Ozone Layer, Ozone Layer Depletion, International Initiatives and Analysis of Montreal Protocol.
1. An Analysis of Montreal Protocol
(A project presentation prepared in partial fulfillment of ED72.30 Energy
Environment and Climate Change course)
Presented by:
Pradeep Baral – st116639
Kavinda Randima – st116474
PokchatWetchapinant – st116480
Dusit Tanthong – st116042
2. Ozone
Ozone is trioxygen (O3)
Ozone is highly reactive (form of Oxygen)
Ozone is highly corrosive and toxic and is used as a
disinfectant.
Unlike Oxygen molecule (O2) which is colorless and
odorless, Ozone has a pungent odor and blue color
Ozone exists within both tropospheric and
stratospheric zone of the atmosphere
Ozone near the earth’s surface in the troposphere is
an air pollutant and considered BAD OZONE as it
exacerbate asthma and cause other respiratory and
associated health problems
Ozone in the stratosphere protects the living
organisms in the earth from harmful UV radiations
and is considered as GOOD OZONE
4. The Ozone Layer
A layer in the earth’s atmosphere which contains relatively high
concentration of Ozone
Absorbs 93-97% of Sun’s high frequency ultraviolet (UVA, UVB and
UVC) radiations between 210 and 290 μm wavelengths
Found in the lower portion of the stratosphere from approximately 20
to 30 kilometers above earth
Formed naturally by photochemical mechanisms on Oxygen molecule
The thickness of the layer varies spatially and seasonally. It is thickest
in the poles and during the spring season
The ozone layer protects the earth from the harmful effects of the UV
radiation, which is vital because excessive exposure to UV radiation,
especially UVB radiation would lead to cancer, cataracts, skin diseases,
stunned growth in plants and permanent DNA damage
The columnar density of Ozone layer or Ozone in particular is
measured in Dobson Units (DU). A value of 300 DU is considered
normal
7. Ozone Formation
Oxygen (O2) in the troposphere makes it to the
Stratosphere
Formation and distruction of Ozone in the stratosphere is a
continuous process
8. Catalytic Ozone Destruction
Four main “families” of chemicals responsible
for catalyzing ozone destruction:
1. Nitrogen oxides: NOx
NO + NO2
2. Hydrogen oxides: HOx
OH + HO2
3. Chlorine: ClOx
Cl + ClO
4. Bromine: BrOx
Br + BrO
A common type of catalytic
destruction cycle (there are others)
Y+O YO+O
YO+O Y+O
3 2
2
where Y = NO, OH, Cl or Br
Sources of Catalysts
1. Stratospheric NOx
Source: tropospheric N2O - Natural
2. Stratospheric HOx
Source: tropospheric CH4, H2, H2O - Much is natural however increased
concentration due to industrial and agricultural activities
3. Stratospheric Cl and Br
Sources: tropospheric CFCs, HCFCs, halons – Entirely anthropogenic
9. Ozone Layer Depletion
Scientists in the 1960s realized that something
was going wrong in the ozone layer.
They soon figured out that human actions
were damaging Earth's shield against harmful
radiation.
Most of the depletion of the ozone layer has
been attributed to pollutants containing
chloride (chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs).
1974 study at UC Irvine indicated threat to
ozone layer from CFCs - Shock to the $28
billion per year CFC industry
10. What are CFCs??
CFCs are chlorofluorocarbons; they are small molecules that contain
chlorine, fluorine and carbon atoms. Usually there are only 1-2 carbon
atoms.
CFCs are sometimes called Freons (that was their trade name for DuPont)
CFCs are referred to by a number. The most common CFCs are: CFC-11, CFC-
12, CFC-113
HCFCs are CFCs that contain hydrogen. This makes them more reactive to
the OH radical, decreasing their tropospheric lifetime.
Former uses of CFCs included Air Conditioners, Refrigerators, Spray Cans,
Cleaners from electronic parts, Sterilizing medical instruments, Fumigants
for granaries and cargo ships etc.
CFCs remain stable in troposphere due to unreactivity
Over 11-20 years they get lifted into stratosphere by convection and drift
Each CFC molecule lasts in stratosphere for 65-385 years and can convert
100,000 of O3 to O2 during that time
Emission of CFCs have accounted for roughly 80% of total stratospheric
depletion
12. The ‘Ozone Hole’
The ozone hole is not
technically a “hole” where no
ozone is present, but is
actually a region of depleted
ozone in the stratosphere
over the Antarctic that
happens at the beginning of
Southern Hemisphere spring
(August-October).
The average concentration of
ozone in the atmosphere is
about 300 Dobson Units; any
area where the concentration
drops below 220 Dobson
Units is considered part of
the ozone hole.
13. The ‘Ozone Hole’
The Antarctic Ozone Hole
was discovered in 1985 by
the British scientists
During 4 months each year
half of the ozone layer
above Antarctica is depleted
A polar vortex isolates the
stratosphere above the
poles in the arctic and
Antarctic winters.
The CFC’s are concentrated
in this vortex.
The chlorine atoms break
off the CFC’s in the spring
when the sun hits them.
15. Loss of the Ozone Layer – Why we
need to be so concerned??
The loss of Ozone Layer causes increased exposure to UV radiation which
has
Effects on Aquatic Ecosystem
Decreased abundance of Phytoplancton which further affects the food
stock for fishes
Decreased diversity and increased mutation affects numerous aquatic
fauna and flora leaving some of them being extinct permanenely
Effects on Terrestrial Ecosystem
Damage to plant cell DNA molecules which makes them succeptible to
pests and pathogens
Stunned growth, reduced leaf size, number and photosynthetic ability
Mutation of the mammalian cells and destruction of cell membranes
Effects on Human (Ecosystem)
Increased succeptability to Skin Cancer (50% more succeptable)
Premature ageing of the skin
Cataracts and other eye disorders
Immune System damage
Decreased agricultural and fishery productivity – food insucirity
Global warming and climate change (indirect)
16. Policy responses to mitigate Ozone
Layer Depletion
Depletion of Stratospheric Ozone emerged as a political
concern in the early 1970s. As a result, US banned non-essential
use of CFCs as Aerosol propellants
Efforts at negiotating an international agreement
controlling CFC use began in the 1980s and cumilated in 1987 with Montreal Protocol
Major policy efforts by the world to mitigate Ozone
Layer Depletion are listed below:
Co-ordinated Meeting on Ozone Layer (CCOL) established
by UNEP in the 1970s
Vienna convention on protection of the Ozone Layer in 1985
Montreal Protocal to ban substances that deplete the Ozone
Layer (ODS) held in 1987
Amendments to the Montreal Protocol: London 1990;
Copenhagen 1992; Montreal 1997 and Beijing 199
17. The Montreal Protocol
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is an
international Treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by Phasing out the
production of numerous substances (ODS) believed to be responsible for
Ozone depletion
The treaty was opened for signature on September 16, 1987, and entered into
forece on January 1, 1989, followed by a first meeting in Helsinki, May 1989.
Since then, it has undergone seven revisions
Current status – rafitied by all 197 UN members
The Montreal Protocol says that the production and consumption of
compounds that deplete ozone in the stratosphere--chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs), halons, carbon tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform--are to be phased
out by 2030.
19. Implementation Mechanism
The Montreal Protocol (MP)has entered what is termed the ‘late stages’
of implementation. This means that the developed world has largely
come into full compliance with its terms and that the production and
use of ODS has been virtually eradicated.
However problem remain in the developing world where ODS are still
produced and used
In 1991, the Multilateral fund for the implementation of MP was
established to provide the developing countries with the funding
necessary to comply with the terms of the treaty
Managed jointly by UNDP, UNEP and the World Bank, the fund supports
technical capacity building projects for 145 countries worth 2.5 billion
US Dollars
These projects aim to phase out ODS consumption and production in
the project nations
Regular technological assessments of each country are made every two
years to monitor compliance with the treaty. Additionally, nations must
provide up to date inventory report of ODS production, consumption,
import and export
UNEP also operates a compliance assistance program that cosists of
policy developemnt and enforcement, data reporting, customs training,
technical support, information, and communication
20. Phasing out ODS
Parties to the Montreal Protocol must freeze, reduce
and phase out their production and consumption of
ODS according to a specific step-wise schedule.
- Approaches:
Production Control
Consumption Control
Trade, Import, export and reimport control
Adaptation to Ozone Friendly technology
Training and Capacity Building
23. Monitoring Progress
Established a monitoring committee which
comprises 2 member states from each of the
UN’s 5 geographical regions. It normally meets
twice a year, and receives report from Ozone
secretariet on the data reported by the parties
and their levels of compliance with their
obligations
Most developing countries do not produce ODS
and are completely dependent on ODS imports.
Consequently, monitoring the legal trade and
preventing the illegal trade of these chemical is
crucial to achieving the gradual phase-out of
ODS and conversion to non-ODS alternatives.
25. Is Montreal Protocol really working as targeted??
• “Perhaps the single most successful international
agreement to date has been the Montreal Protocol” - Kofi
Annan, Former Secretary General of the United Nations
• The total abundance of ozone-depleting gases in the
atmosphere has begun to decrease in recent years
• If the nations of the world continue to follow the
provisions of the Montreal Protocol, the decrease will
continue throughout the 21st century
• Some individual gases such as halons and
hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are still increasing in
the atmosphere, but will begin to decrease in the next
decades if compliance with the Protocol continues
• By midcentury, the effective abundance of ozone-depleting
gases should fall to values present before the Antarctic
“ozone hole” began to form in the early 1980s.
26. What made Montreal Protocol
among most successful international
treaty?
Flexibility - five amendments since 1987 (London
1990, Copenhagen 1992, Montreal 1997, Beijing
1999, Montreal 2007). Each of these amendments
built upon the success, and tried to rectify the
failures of the last
International scientific co-operation and consensus
Involvement of multilateral institutions such as the
UNEP, World Bank, UNDP, UNIDO, European Union
etc.
Recognition of the common but differentiated
responsibility principle for developing nations
The targets and timetables approach
The multilateral fund for the developing nations
27. Weakness
• Unable to deal with the problem of ODS
smugglers
• Overlap in reporting requirements which
parties must submit to the secretariat
• Time lag to the developing nations in
complying with the rules and accomplishing
the ODS phase-out
• Difficulty in monitoring the detailed
implementation progress of individual
nations since it covers 197 nations
28. The success continues
• Approximately one half the observed ozone
change was in the region of the stratosphere
above 11 miles and the rest in the lower
stratosphere from six to 11 miles.
• The researchers attribute the ozone
improvement above 11 miles almost entirely
to the Montreal Protocol.
29. The success continues
“The real surprise of our research was the degree of
ozone recovery we found at lower altitudes, below the
middle stratosphere. There, ozone is improving faster
than we expected, and appears to be due to changes in
atmospheric wind patterns, the causes of which are
not yet well understood. Until the cause of the recent
ozone increase in the lowermost stratosphere is better
understood, making high-accuracy predictions of how
the entire ozone layer will behave in the future will
remain an elusive goal. Continued careful observation
and modeling are required to understand how the
ozone recovery process will evolve.“ - co-author Mike
Newchurch of the University of Alabama in Huntsville
30. Contd…
• Thus, NASA and NOAA Data Indicate Ozone
Layer is Recovering
• Montreal Protocol and its amendments have
succeeded in stopping the loss of ozone in the
stratosphere.
• In 1980’s, the scientists first noticed the
harmful effects human activities were having
on atmospheric ozone
31. Source: Department of the Environment , Australia
http://www.environment.gov.au/protection/ozone/mo
ntreal-protocol