Keywords

Climate change; ozone depletion; Vienna Convention; Montreal Protocol; UNFCCC; Kyoto Protocol

Abstarct

This chapter, originally written in 1996 during the negotiations on the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and recently updated, compares the situation of global climate change as addressed by the Kyoto Protocol with the situation of stratospheric ozone depletion as addressed by the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in 1987. It concludes that, while the two situations have many similarities, they are different in a number of regards. The manner in which the legally binding emission targets included in the Kyoto Protocol were determined has created a treaty that cannot serve as an effective longer-term approach to climate change. It is argued that the future approach should not be modelled strictly along the lines of the Montreal Protocol. Alternative means of encouraging all countries to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions need to be developed in a broad spirit of international cooperation.

INTRODUCTION

In 1987 the nations of the world agreed on a treaty, the Montreal Protocol, to reduce emissions of gases that deplete the stratospheric ozone layer. This agreement has been amended several times since 1987 to reflect increased knowledge and experience regarding the impact of different chemicals on the ozone layer and the options for reducing their emissions.