International day for the protection of the ozone layer

International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer commemorates the day in 1987 on which the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed - 16 September. It was first celebrated in 1995 and provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the health of the Earth's ozone layer and to mark Australia's achievements to reduce our impacts on the ozone layer.

The Ozone layer

Recent research by NASA shows that the overall rate of stratospheric ozone depletion is slowing, indicating the possible first stages of recover of the ozone layer. This research supports the broadly held view that, if the Montreal Protocol is fully adhered to, there is a good chance the ozone layer will recover towards the middle of this century.

Whilst the rate of ozone depletion is slowing, the annual ozone hole serves as a timely reminder that we are not out of the woods yet.

The ozone hole, which is actually a thinning of the ozone layer, forms over Antarctica around spring every year and changes in size depending on annual meteorological conditions as well as the rate of ozone depletion. As such, a single year cannot be used to infer a general trend in the ozone hole parameters. This year, according to recent reports from the World Meteorological Organization and the Australian Antarctic Division, meteorological conditions in the Antarctic are ideal for the chemical breakdown of ozone, indicating the potential for a significant hole in the ozone layer to occur over Antarctica this spring.

It is worth remembering that without the Montreal Protocol, by the year 2050 ozone depletion would have risen to at least 50% in the northern hemisphere's mid latitudes and 70% in the southern mid latitudes - about 10 times worse than current levels. The resulting quadrupling in UV-B radiation in the southern mid latitudes would have put Australians at far greater risk of skin cancer and eye cataracts.

This and the research from NASA are clear indications of the success of the Montreal Protocol and that the measures put in place by the Australian Government and the international community to phase out ozone depleting substances are having a positive impact on the health of the ozone layer.

Australia's achievements

Australia is a world leader in the international fight to combat stratospheric ozone depletion through the phase-out of ozone depleting substances. Australia has significantly reduced and in some cases phased-out, the use of ozone depleting substances, which are used in refrigerators, air conditioners, foam, fire protection, and fumigation.

Australia was a key participant in the creation of the Montreal Protocol and has remained an active participant in its subsequent evolution.

National achievements

At the national level, Australia has:

Reduced its annual ozone depleting substance consumption from 14,002 metric tonnes in 1992 to a phase-out task today of less than 4000 tonnes per annum.
Phased-out halon (an ozone depleting substance used in fire suppression that is many times more potent than chloroflourocarbons) one year ahead of the Montreal Protocol's schedule.
Currently consume annually less than half the amount of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) Australia is permitted under the Montreal Protocol.
Established the Australian National Halon Bank, widely regarded as an international model, to manage Australia's essential use reserve of halon to 2030.
Destroyed in excess of 1,000 tonnes of halon - more than any other country in the world.
In the 2001 Review of the Commonwealth's Ozone Protection Legislation, an independent cost-benefit undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers, indicated that over the effective life of the legislation (1989-2060), costs amount to $1 billion against benefits of $7.4 billion.

International achievments:

At the international level Australia has been a key player behind:

Formal decisions on national halon management strategies, ozone depleting substance destruction technologies, compliance and enforcement, and methyl bromide phase-out.
Improving interaction between military/defence and environment bureaucracies.
Implementing in cooperation with United Nations Environment Program and South Pacific Regional Environment Program, a regional approach to the phase-out of CFCs which will see 8 Pacific Island nations phase out of this chemical five years ahead of their international obligations.
Establishing a national halon banking facility and management program in India (the world's third largest consumer of halon).
Funded establishment of a network of recovery and recycling centres in Vietnam for refrigerant ozone depleting substances.
To date, the Australian Government has contributed approximately US$30.9m to the Multilateral Fund of the Protocol that facilitates developing country compliance with the Protocol's ODS phase-out measures.

Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Legislation Amendment Bill 2003

The Australian Government and industry have collaborated to ensure that Australia remains an international leader on actions to restore the Earth's ozone layer.

On 5 June 2003 the Australian Government introduced the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Legislation Amendment Bill 2003 and related Bills to the Parliament. When enacted, these Bills will ensure that Australia has a truly national regulatory scheme for the management of ozone depleting substances and synthetic greenhouse gases used as their replacement.