Global environmental problems are some of the most pressing issues that humanity is facing. There are few examples of success at resolving them; the fight to protect the ozone layer is one of them.
The demand of active cooling systems such as air conditioners and chillers is increasing rapidly. This leads to an increase in emissions of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) and Hydro-Chlorofluorocarbons (HCFC), which negatively impact the Earth's ozone layer.
Industries in north-eastern China have released large quantities of an ozone-depleting gas into the atmosphere in violation of an international treaty, scientists have said.
Levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have reached another new record high, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). There is no sign of a reversal in this trend, which is driving long-term climate change, sea level rise, ocean acidification and more extreme weather.
An environmental pressure group claimed that Chinese factories are illegally using ozone-depleting CFCs, which have recently seen a spike in emissions that has baffled scientists. The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) campaign group said 18 factories in 10 Chinese provinces they looked into admitted to using banned chlorofluorocarbons.
The Montreal Protocol was designed to protect the stratospheric ozone layer by enabling reductions in the abundance of ozone-depleting substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the atmosphere. The reduction in the atmospheric concentration of trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11) has made the second-largest contribution to the decline in the total atmospheric concentration of ozone-depleting chlorine since the 1990s.
The ozone layer - which protects us from harmful ultraviolet radiation - is recovering at the poles, but unexpected decreases in part of the atmosphere may be preventing recovery at lower latitudes
(Seychelles News Agency) - Seychelles is focusing on ozone-layer-friendly technological appliances as it joins the second phase of the Green Cooling Africa Initiative.
The restoration of the globe’s protective shield of ozone will be delayed by decades if fast-rising emissions of a chemical used in paint stripper are not curbed, new research has revealed.
