Experts urged the global community on Thursday to take all-out measures to substantially mitigate emissions of carbon gases which are the key factor in altering the climate and depleting ozone layer.
During his keynote address at a seminar in the capital, eminent climate scientist and former Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) director-general Qamar uz Zaman Chaudhry said, “Our use of ozone-depleting substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) had torn a hole in the ozone layer that protects us from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation. But the challenge has been tackled and the ozone layer, which had depleted dangerously has restored thanks to global cooperation in combating it.”
Nevertheless, continuous and strenuous efforts would be required to make the planet completely Ozone-friendly, he said. The event was organised by the Ministry of Climate Change in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation and Multilateral Funds Secretariat (MLFS) in connection with the United Nations’ ‘International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer’ under the slogan, ‘‘Ozone: All there is between you and UV”.
The day is observed throughout the world on September 16 every year since 1995, when it was declared the International Ozone Day by the United Nations General Assembly. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the ozone layer.
Dr. Qamar uz Zaman Chaudhry told the participants that the theme of the day “30 Years of Healing the Ozone Together” reminds us of all the efforts so far made for the protection of ozone layer. He told the participants that it is believed that the ozone layer would be restored to its 1980-level by the middle of the century.
“Thirty years ago, the international community signed the Vienna Convention for the protection of the ozone layer. Under its Montreal Protocol, a global treaty was made in 1987 to phase out ozone depleting substances like chlorofluorocarbons (commonly found in spray cans and refrigerants at the time). Since then, ozone depletion has stopped and may soon reverse course,” Chaudhry said.
The Montreal Protocol has established a partnership between the developed and developing countries, all striving in unison to achieve the phase out of ozone depletion substances (ODS). Depletion of ozone layer is one of the most serious environmental concerns threatening the very existence of life on earth. Ozone provides a natural protective filter against harmful ultra-violet rays from the sun, which can cause sunburn, cataracts and skin cancer as well as damage vegetation.
Ministry of Climate Change Joint Secretary and Ozone Cell National Project Director Sajjad Ahmad Bhutta, said on the occasion, “It is encouraging to note that Pakistan is on its way to eliminating the use of ozone depleting substances and is in full compliance with the targets set-out by the Ozone Secretariat. In this context, on January 1, 2015, Pakistan has achieved the 10% reduction targets of HCFCs.”
He further said that the problem was not over yet and that it required concrete efforts by the government as well as the private sector making the earth ozone-friendly. Bhutta hoped that with the financial and technical assistance of MLFS, strategies for phasing out ozone depleting substances would remain successful.
“Protection of ozone layer is must to allow the life on earth to prosper in a sustainable manner. Looking back over the past 30 years, we are at a critical juncture in the implementation of a phase out programme for the ozone depleting substances,” he said.