When we saved the ozone layer, we saved ourselves from even worse climate change
Saving the zone layer . One of the great environmental success stories
the 1987 Montreal Protocol.
The Montreal Protocol was the first treaty in United Nations' history to achieve universal ratification, and many consider it to be the most successful global environmental action to date.
"Without the Montreal Protocol, we would have reached 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels already, and we would have no chance of meeting the Paris Agreement," said England.
Chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, are man-made chemicals that were widely used in refrigeration and air conditioners before they were banned by the protocol. They're also potent greenhouse gases, thousands of times more powerful than carbon dioxide, and can remain in the atmosphere for up to 100 years.
The protocol's ban on CFCs was in response to research showing that they were destroying the ozone in the upper atmosphere. That ozone filters out dangerous ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
Thinning of the ozone layer and the ozone "holes" that appeared over polar regions threatened organisms on Earth.
The treaty was a great success — CFC levels have been dropping since the ban came into effect, and the ozone layer has been slowly healing.