Policy Implications from the Montreal Protocol :: Environment Kyoto Essays Papers

Policy Implications from the Montreal ProtocolExecutive SummaryIn the mid 1980s, the world-wide community discrete to address the issue ofozone depletion. In 1987, the Montreal Protocol was signed, setting out abatementschedules for major ozone depleting substances. Due to several unique factorssurrounding the issue of ozone depletion, the Montreal Protocol was, and continues to be,a great success. That being said, there are a number of problems that parties to theagreement drop faced over the years, and it is important to learn from these and apply thelessons to future international environmental agreements. For one, trade leakage was amajor problem for developed nations under the Montreal Protocol. Moreover, otherissues, including illegal trade, technology transfer problems, data collection problems,and conflicts with sequent environmental agreements have marred the MontrealProtocol, and need to be considered when crafting new abatement policies, such as theKyoto Protocol.Montre al ProtocolUp until the late 1920s, the most common dyed refrigerants were toxic andvolatile gases such as ammonia and methyl chloride. It is for this reason that whenchemist Thomas Midgley Jr. developed what appeared to be a safe and soggy substitute inthe form of the family of chemicals known as chlorofluorocarbons in 1930, they weresoon widely adopted as coolants for both refrigeration and industrial solvents1. It wasntuntil a few decades later, in 1974, that two scientists by the names of F. SherwoodRowland and Mario Molina proposed that chlorofluorocarbon emissions would lead to the destruction of the stratospheric ozone layer2. At that time Drs. Rowland and Molina suggested thatwhile inert in the lower atmosphere, when CFC molecules reach the stratosphere and areexposed to ultraviolet radiation they release chlorine atoms that will bond with theatmospheric ozone to form chlorine monoxide.Ten years later, in the mid 1980s, Antarctic researchers discovered a large hole inthe o zone layer. This finding seemed to be corroboration of Rowland and Molinasoriginal findings2. With a depleted ozone layer, high levels of UV radiation will reachthe earths surface and cause a range of problems3. These problems can include reducedplant growth, which would have extensive implications for the agricultural sectors aroundthe world higher mortality of phytoplankton, which could affect marine ecosystems andultimately fish stocks worldwide and higher rates of skin genus Cancer and melanoma amonghumans. A United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) study showed that asustained 1 percent decrease in stratospheric ozone will result in about a 2 percentincrease in the incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer, which can be fatal. With thesuccessful phase-out of CFCs, however, EPA expects 295 million fewer cases of this