Climate Change Ministry Ozone protection initiative National Program Manager Mazhar Hayat emphasised that controlling emission of ozone layer-cracking gases is need of the hour to protect earth’s health and sustainability.
“Use of ozone-depleting gases such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) had cracked a hole in the ozone layer that protects us from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation. But thanks to global community’s role, the ozone-depletion problem has been substantially addressed,” he told journalists on Saturday.
The national program manager said, “The ozone layer, which had depleted dangerouslySA has restored. Thanks to global cooperation in combating it.” Depletion of Ozone is one of the most serious environmental concerns threatening the very existence of life on earth, he said.
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. The cell has been established under the United Nations Development Programme-funded multi-million dollar project ‘Institutional Strengthening of Montreal Protocol’ under a notification of the Establishment Division of the Cabinet Secretariat.
He pledged to make all-out efforts to prove that Pakistan is very much serious in joining global efforts to completely restore the ozone layer to its 1980-level by the middle of the century, which is inevitable for sustainability of earth and the life on it.
Hayat said, “Thirty years ago, the international community signed the Vienna Convention for the protection of the Ozone layer. Under its Montreal Protocol, a global treaty passed in 1987 to phase out ozone depleting substances like chlorofluorocarbons (commonly found in spray cans and refrigerants at the time), ozone depletion has stopped. However, the world is on track to completely restore the ozone layer, he added.
The Montreal Protocol has, in fact, established a unique partnership between the developed and developing countries, all striving in unison and harmony to achieve the phase out of Ozone depletion substances (ODS).
“It is heartening to observe that Pakistan is very much on track to eliminate the use of Ozone depleting substances and is in full compliance with the targets set out by the Ozone Secretariat, he added. This year on January 1, Pakistan achieved the 10 percent reduction target, Hayat highlighted.
“Protection of ozone layer, the ultimate objective of the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the 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 underlined.