Iran will commemorate the International Day for the Preservation of Ozone Layer on September 20, while the occasion is celebrated globally on September 16.
Ebrahim Hajizadeh, head of the Ozone Layer Protection Program at the Department of Environment, said the date almost coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of Ozone Layer, which went into effect on September 22, 1988, IRNA reported.
“Several high-ranking officials from Iranian and international organizations will attend the event,” he said.
Depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer is caused by the emission of chlorine and bromine-containing compounds such as chlorofluorocarbons.
“Following the signing of the Montreal Protocol and its amendments, the total abundance of these chlorinated/brominated gases was observed to peak in 1993 and is now decaying slowly,” Martyn Chipperfield of the University of Leeds told IBTimes UK.
The story would be very different had the Montreal Protocol not been implemented. In a study published in May, Chipperfield and his colleagues suggest the Antarctic ozone hole would have grown by 40% by 2013, ozone-depleting substances would have increased and ozone loss would have been seen around the world.
More UVB rays would have reached our bodies, which can cause skin cancer and cataracts in humans.
The Montreal Protocol remains one of the most successful international treaties on the environment, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hopes governments around the world can build on its success to curb current environmental challenges.
In a statement published on Un.org, Ban Ki-moon hailed humanity’s attempt to repair the damaged ozone layer, which is “on the road to recovery by the middle of this century”, but warned that more still needs to done.
“As we look forward to the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the effort by governments later this year in Paris to forge a new, collective path forward on climate change, the Montreal Protocol’s success should inspire us. It shows what we are capable of when nations act together on a global challenge,” he said.
