Today is International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. This day is intended to bring awareness to the depleting ozone layer. Started by the United Nations General Assembly in 1995, it continues to promote a healthier vision for Earth every year — it is observed on the 16th of September.
The theme for 2022 is global cooperation protecting life on earth.
In 1987 representatives from 24 countries met in Montreal and announced to the world that it was time to stop destroying the ozone layer. In doing so, these countries committed themselves, via the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, to rid the world of substances that threaten the ozone layer.
On 19 December 1994, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 16 September to be the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, commemorating the date when the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed in 1987. The day was first celebrated on September 16, 1995.
The adoption of the Montreal Protocol 35 years ago marked a turning point in environmental history. The Protocol has become a symbol of what global cooperation can achieve if people unite and work together to protect the environment. The Protocol came into effect in 1989 and by 2008, it was the first and only UN environmental agreement to be ratified by every country in the world.
Because the ozone layer filters most of the harmful ultra-violet radiation from the sun, action because of the Montreal Protocol has protected millions of people from skin cancer and cataracts, allowed vital ecosystems to survive and thrive, and slowed climate change.
On this World Ozone Day, we celebrate the achievements of the Montreal Protocol — that through global cooperation protected all living things, now and into the future.
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