The 1987 Montreal Protocol is known best for saving the ozone layer. Now scientists say it also delayed the disappearance of Arctic sea ice.
The international agreement to phase out ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons is widely regarded as one of the most successful environmental treaties of all time. It effectively saved the Earth’s delicate ozone layer, which protects the planet from harmful ultraviolet radiation, and the “ozone hole” in the atmosphere is on track to fully recover within a few decades.
It also had unintended climate benefits. Chlorofluorocarbons are potent greenhouse gases, and global warming would have been significantly worse if they had stayed in use.
That means the Montreal Protocol has helped slow the rampant melting of the Arctic, a new study finds. It’s likely already averted more than half a million square
— source scientificamerican.com | Chelsea Harvey | May 23, 2023