Montreal Protocol: Fixing the Ozone Layer and Reducing Climate Change

Contact Counsellor

Last Updated20/09/2023

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) recently celebrated the 29th World Ozone Day.

It is celebrated on 16th September each year to commemorate the signing of the Montreal Protocol.
It aims to spread awareness among people about the depletion of the Ozone Layer and the measures taken or to be taken to preserve it.
The theme for World Ozone Day 2023 is “Montreal Protocol: fixing the ozone layer and reducing climate change”.

It is a special form of oxygen made up of three oxygen atoms (O3).
It is both a natural and a man-made product that occurs in the Earth's
- Upper atmosphere (the stratosphere)
- Lower atmosphere (the troposphere)
About 90% of ozone occurs naturally in the Earth's upper atmosphere (Stratosphere).
There, it forms a protective layer that shields us from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays.
This “good” ozone is gradually being destroyed by man-made chemicals called Ozone-Depleting Substances (ODS).
- It includes CFCs, HCFCs, halons, methyl bromide, carbon tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform.
Ozone layer depletion leads to an uptick in the incidence of skin cancer and cataracts in humans.
Ground-level ozone is formed primarily from photochemical reactions between two major classes of air pollutants viz. volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx).

Adopted in 1987, it is a worldwide agreement to phase out the production and consumption of substances causing ozone-depletion.
- Primarily chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, carbon tetrachloride and other chemicals
- Used commonly in refrigeration, air conditioning, and aerosol propellants.
It is the only UN treaty ever that has been ratified by every country on Earth - all UN Member States.
It has led to the phase-out of 99% of ozone-depleting chemicals in refrigerators, air-conditioners and many other products.
India is a party to the Montreal Protocol since June 1992.

Adopted on October 15, 2016, it is an amendment to the Montreal Protocol.
It addresses the phase-down of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) used as replacements for the ozone-depleting substances.
Objective: To reduce the production and consumption of HFCs with the aim of mitigating their contribution to global warming.