OZONE on the road to Recovery

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 By Dr. Arvind Kumar, President, India Water Foundation

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said, ‘World Ozone Day is observed to create awareness related to climate change and ozone depletion and asked people to look for ozone-friendly, HCFC free, energy-efficient appliances to minimize the Ozone layer impact’. Indeed, without this delicate natural umbrella, our lives and livelihoods would rather be unproductive and unsustainable. Today we celebrate 35 years of global ozone layer protection marking “Ozone for life”, entire globe bows in solitary to the landmark Vienna Convention and Montreal Protocol. What is so special about it that assisted in transitioning our eco-friendly pathways towards healthy life-supporting OZONE Layer?

Scientific confirmation of the depletion of the ozone layer by products such as CFCs, HCFCs, family of halons prompted the international community to establish a mechanisms and time-targeted actions towards protection of the ozone layer. According to “Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion” study in 2018, the concentration of ozone-depleting substances in the stratosphere has continued to decline, leading to a gradual recovery of the ozone layer. This is a considerable winning feat and gives a ray of hope to our planet to ‘Heal Forward Better’.

Due to our own un-sustainable choices and actions seen through extensive use of ACs, refrigerators, aircrafts etc we have contributed to large amount of green house gas emissions that deplete ozone. The controlled uses of ozone depleting substances and the related reductions have not only helped protect the ozone layer but have also contributed significantly towards climate change; protecting human health and ecosystems from harmful UV radiations.

The time now is to sustain and not limit our efforts by mobilizing environmental will to support this global action and in the words of António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, ‘Let us take encouragement from how we have worked together to preserve the ozone layer and apply the same will to healing the planet and forging a brighter and more equitable future for all humanity’. Forging a synergy of cooperation and collective efforts, let us underpin strong partnerships at every level to ‘sustain’ and not ‘diminish’ so that the population of GeNEXT shall live and thrive under the shield of life. It is time we pledge towards optimizing eco-friendly, sustainable and innovative solutions to ‘protect the protector’ of our Planet.

 

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