United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on the
international community to continue efforts to preserve the world’s
ozone layer and protect the environment.
In his
message for the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone
Layer on September 16, the UN leader pointed to the Montreal Protocol on
substances that deplete the ozone layer as an example of how member
states are capable of working for the common good.
“Extraordinary challenges require extraordinary responses. A generation
ago, the world’s nations agreed to act definitively to protect the ozone
layer, initiating an inter-governmental process that blazed new
trails”, he said.
Signed on September 16, 1987,
the Montreal Protocol aims to protect the ozone layer by taking measures
to control total global production and consumption of substances that
deplete it, with the ultimate objective of their elimination.
States were invited to devote the Day to promote activities in
accordance with the objectives of the protocol and its amendments.
The ozone layer, a fragile shield of gas, protects the Earth from the
harmful portion of the rays of the sun, thus helping preserve life on
the planet. The protocol has catalyzed innovation in the chemical and
equipment manufacturing industry, resulting in more energy-efficient and
environmentally friendly refrigeration systems.
Action under the protocol has also had significant climate benefits.
Many harmful substances have been phased out, such as
chlorofluorocarbons once used in products like hairsprays which are
significant greenhouse gases.
“Sustainable
development – enabled by the integration of economic growth, social
justice and environmental stewardship – must become our global guiding
principle and operational standard, ” he said.
The
UN chief also called the protocol a “remarkable success story” which
provides a “beacon of hope” and serves to chart a new vision and
responsive framework beyond 2015, the deadline for the eight
anti-poverty goals known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
“On this International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, I
commend all who have made the Montreal Protocol such an outstanding
example of international cooperation. I urge governments, industry,
civil society and all other partners to apply the same spirit to the
other great environment and development challenges of our times,” he
concluded.-VNA