The success of the Montreal Protocol in mitigating interactive effects of stratospheric ozone depletion and climate change on the environment

Paul W Barnes; Janet F Bornman; Krishna K Pandey; Germar H Bernhard; Alkiviadis F Bais; Rachel E Neale; Thomas Matthew Robson; Patrick J Neale; Craig E Williamson; Richard G Zepp; Sasha Madronich; Stephen R Wilson; Anthony L Andrady; Anu M Heikkilä; Sharon A Robinson

doi:10.1111/gcb.15841

The success of the Montreal Protocol in mitigating interactive effects of stratospheric ozone depletion and climate change on the environment

Glob Chang Biol. 2021 Nov;27(22):5681-5683. doi: 10.1111/gcb.15841. Epub 2021 Aug 30.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biological Sciences and Environment Program, Loyola University New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
² Food Futures Institute, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
³ Department of Wood Properties and Uses, Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Bangalore, India.
⁴ Biospherical Instruments Inc., San Diego, California, USA.
⁵ Department of Physics, Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece.
⁶ Population Health Department, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
⁷ Organismal & Evolutionary Biology (OEB), Viikki Plant Sciences Centre (ViPS), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
⁸ Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, Maryland, USA.
⁹ Department of Biology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA.
¹⁰ ORD/CEMM, US Environmental Protection Agency, Athens, Georgia, USA.
¹¹ Atmospheric Chemistry Observations and Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
¹² School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
¹³ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.
¹⁴ Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland.
¹⁵ Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future, Global Challenges Program & School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.

PMID: 34392574
DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15841

Abstract

The Montreal Protocol and its Amendments have been highly effective in protecting the stratospheric ozone layer, preventing global increases in solar ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B; 280-315 nm) at Earth's surface, and reducing global warming. While ongoing and projected changes in UV-B radiation and climate still pose a threat to human health, food security, air and water quality, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and construction materials and fabrics, the Montreal Protocol continues to play a critical role in protecting Earth's inhabitants and ecosystems by addressing many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Keywords: Montreal Protocol; UV-B; climate change; ecosystems; human health; stratospheric ozone; sustainability; ultraviolet radiation.

Publication types

Letter

MeSH terms

Climate Change
Ecosystem
Humans
Ozone Depletion*
Ozone*
Stratospheric Ozone
Ultraviolet Rays / adverse effects

Substances

Stratospheric Ozone
Ozone