17 September 2010
UNEP Launches Report Linking Ozone and Climate Change on International Ozone Day
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The executive summary of “Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion 2010” offers the first comprehensive update on ozone depletion in four years.

16 September 2010: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) launched the executive summary of a new report, titled “Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion 2010,” on the UN International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. The report, by UNEP and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), offers the first comprehensive update on ozone depletion in four years, and provides new information on the effects of climate change on the ozone layer, as well as the impact of ozone changes on the Earth’s climate.

According to the report, an important remaining scientific challenge is to project future ozone abundance based on an understanding of the complex linkages between ozone and climate change. The report also notes that the Montreal Protocol has “provided substantial co-benefits by reducing climate change.” In 2010, the reduction of ozone depleting substances as a result of the Montreal Protocol, expressed in CO2-equivalent emissions (about 10 Gigatonnes per year), were five times larger than those targeted by the first commitment period (2008-2012) of the Kyoto Protocol, which focuses on greenhouse gas emission reductions. The full report will be available in early 2011. [UNEP Press Release] [WMO Press Release]