Good News!! CNBC's Emma Newburger is reporting that a new report states Earth's ozone layer is slowly recovering from damange.
The article finds that the Earth’s protective ozone layer is on track to recover within four decades, closing an ozone hole that was first noticed in the 1980s, a United Nations-backed panel of experts announced on Monday.
The findings were published in a scientific assessment that follow the landmark Montreal Protocol in 1987, which banned the production and consumption of chemicals that eat away at the planet’s ozone layer.
The article explains the importance of the ozone layer - that it protects the Earth from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, which is linked to skin cancer, eye cataracts, compromised immune systems and agricultural land damage.
The recovery will be a slow and gradual process that scientists in the article say will take to around 2040 - if current policies remain in place to get back to 1980 levels — before the appearance of the ozone hole — and places like the Arctic will return to normal by 2045. Additionally, Antarctica could experience normal levels by 2066.
Newburger's report explains that the global ban of ozone-depleting chemicals is illustrated as the major reason behind this recovery and as one of the most critical environmental achievements to date. Furthermore, it could set a precedent for broader regulation of climate-warming emissions.
The article reports that scientists said that global emissions of the banned chemical chlorofluorocarbon-11, or CFC-11, which was used as a refrigerant and in insulating foams, have declined since 2018 after increasing unexpectedly for several years. A large portion of the unexpected CFC-11 emissions originated from eastern China, the report said.
The report in the article also found that the ozone-depleting chemical chlorine declined 11.5% in the stratosphere since it peaked in 1993, while bromine declined 14.5% since it peaked in 1999.
Researchers with the World Meteorological Organization, the United Nations Environment Program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the European Commission contributed to the assessment.
This is really good news for the plant (and us!) and illustrates the effectiveness in global cooperation to achieve a positive impact.
Source: CNBC
