PORTRAIT Canada was among the first nations to sign and ratify the Montréal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. Today, 191 nations have ratified the treaty, whose high rate of participation underpins its success. Although many challenges remain to be overcome, the Montréal Protocol has already helped phase out most of the production and consumption of substances that deplete our ozone layer, our life-saving shield against ultraviolet radiation. Given the decrease in ozone-depleting substances observed in the atmosphere (currently 96 chemical compounds used in industry and agriculture are covered by the Montréal Protocol), the ozone layer should be back to pre-1980 levels as early as the second half of the 21st century. The regulations ratified are estimated to have prevented tens of millions of cases of skin cancer or cataracts, not to mention the beneficial effect on climate. This is due to the fact that most ozone-depleting substances are also greenhouse gases. Between 1990 and 2000 some 25 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent have been taken out of the atmosphere, which makes the Montréal Protocol one of our best defences against global warming! It was in order to support developing countries in their efforts to reduce ozone-depleting substances that the Multilateral Fund was created in 1990. It set up its secretariat in Montréal the very next year. As the first funding mechanism to be established as a result of an international treaty, the Fund is recognized as one of its key success factors.
The Multilateral Fund In Montréal since 1991
“Since 1991, the Secretariat of the Multilateral Fund has greatly benefited from Montréal’s cosmopolitan atmosphere. The city has become one of the major destinations for the international ozone layer expert community.” Maria Nolan
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