Vienna Convention And Montreal Protocol
By 1985, the globe had already seen advancements in the scientific understanding of ozone depletion and its impacts on human health and the environment. It was then that the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer was created in response.
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The Vienna Convention was the first convention of any kind to be signed by every country involved, taking effect in 1988.
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The Convention did not require countries to take concrete actions to control ozone-depleting substances. Instead, a provision was added that Protocols to control these substances would be adopted if and when warranted.
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Two years after the adoption of the Vienna Convention, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was agreed upon, in an effort to apply limits to the production and consumption of the main chemicals that were causing the destruction of the Earth’s protective ozone layer. The Protocol, which entered into force in 1989, defines a schedule for reducing or eliminating the use of these chemicals.
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Since adoption of the Montreal Protocol, the Parties also adopted several amendments to that Protocol: the London Amendment (1990), the Copenhagen Amendment (1992), the Montreal Amendment (1997), the Beijing Amendment (1999), and the Kigali Amendment (2016).
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The Kigali Amendment, called for the phase-down of hydro-fluorocarbons (HFCs) in 2016. These HFCs were used as replacements for a batch of ozone depleting substances eliminated by the original Montreal Protocol. Although they do not deplete the ozone layer, they are known to be powerful greenhouse gases and, thus, contributors to climate change.
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In 2009, the Convention and the Montreal Protocol became the first treaties of any kind to achieve universal ratification.