The Montreal Protocol is an international environmental agreement to protect the earth’s ozone layer by eliminating the use of ozone depleting substances.

Adopted on 15th September 1987, the protocol is to date the only UN treaty that ever has been ratified by every country on Earth – all 198 UN member states.

 AIM:  Regulating  the production, consumption, and emissions of ozone-depleting substances (ODSs).

PROVISIONS

The ODSs regulated by the Protocol are listed in:

1. • Annex A: CFCs, halons

1. • Annex B: other fully halogenated CFCs, carbon tetrachloride, methyl chloroform

1. • Annex C: HCFCs

1. • Annex E: Methyl bromide

1. • Annex F: HFCs

ARTICLE 2: Control measures for various ODS

ARTICLE 5: Special provisions for developing countries:  entitled to delay for ten years its compliance with the control measures

ARTICLE 7: each party reports annual statistical data on production, import and export of each of the substances controlled by the Montreal Protocol to the Ozone secretariat.

• Kigali Amendment: The Montreal Protocolled to the replacement of CFCs with Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) which do not destroy the Ozone layer.
• But they were later found to be extremely potent in causing Global Warming. So, the HFCs solved one problem, but were contributing in a major way to another.

The Kigali Amendment enabled the Montreal Protocol to mandate the elimination of HFCs as well.