☀️ Ozone Layer Climate Success Story

☀️ Ozone Layer Climate Success Story

Forty years ago, 28 nations came together and agreed on the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, an effort guided by science to heal the Earth’s protective ozone layer which absorbs most of the Sun’s harmful UV radiation. Overexposure to UV radiation can cause skin cancer, eye cataracts, and damage to crops, plants, and micro-organisms, destroying ecosystems and food chains. Two years later in 1987, the Montreal Protocol was signed, which was a global agreement to phase out substances known as chlorofluorocarbons (chemicals used in refrigeration, aerosol sprays, and foam production) that deplete the ozone layer. In 2016, the Protocol was amended to include the phase down of hydrofluorocarbons. As of today, around 99% of ozone-depleting substances have been phased out globally and the ozone layer is showing steady signs of recovery.

United Nations News

🌊 Steady Ocean Pattern Failed to Emerge

For the first time since records began 40 years ago, the cold, nutrient-rich waters of the Gulf of Panama failed to emerge this year. During the dry season in Central America, northern trade winds typically generate upwelling events in the ocean waters of the Gulf of Panama every January-April, however researchers say this vital oceanographic process did not occur this year. Scientists are unsure if this is a real-life example of a climate tipping point that will continue in future years. Regardless, at least short-term impacts are likely to fisheries and coral reefs in the area. Researchers noted that the winds that typically drive the upwelling were less frequent and not as strong as previous years, but they don’t yet know why the winds did not blow as usual. A team has been gathered to further analyze and research the phenomenon.

Doyle Rice, USA Today

✈️ Military Spending to Cause Huge Spike in Emissions

A planned expansion of military spending by NATO countries could generate an additional 1,320 million tons of planet-heating pollution over the next decade. That is equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions generated by Brazil, the fifth largest emitter in the world. A review of 11 recent studies found that each additional $100 billion in military spending leads to an estimated 32 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in the atmosphere. The emissions come from direct sources such as combat planes, warships and armored vehicles, as well as indirect emissions from transporting equipment, complex global supply chains, and the effects of war fighting itself. The planned increase comes in addition to the $200 billion funding boost between 2019 and 2024, which already increased NATO’s military carbon footprint by an estimated 64 million tons of CO2.

Nina Lakhani, The Guardian