Could Kyoto Protocol Use a Touch of Montreal?
Date: 17-Sep-07 Country: US Author: Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent For those who think the Kyoto Protocol is not working to cut greenhouse gas emissions that are heating the planet, why not take some lessons from the Montreal Protocol, praised as the world’s most successful climate treaty? Both the United Nations and the Bush administration plan to try out this idea this week as parties to the treaty gather in Montreal, 20 years after the pact to cut ozone-depleting chemicals was signed. Sunday, the anniversary of the signing, has been dubbed International Ozone Day. The Montreal Protocol aims to cut down on emissions of chemicals that deplete the stratospheric ozone layer, which shields Earth from ultraviolet solar radiation that can cause skin cancer and other ailments. The ozone layer is still thin in spots, especially over the South Pole, but the treaty is considered a raging success because it mapped a way to cut production of ozone-depleting substances. So far, 191