Contrasting the concerns over climate and ozone loss

Contrasting the concerns over climate and ozone loss

Why phasing out chlorofluorocarbons proved a much easier sell than have been moves to cut back on greenhouse gases

By Janet Raloff
Web edition : Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

On November 7, ozone and climate scientists met in Washington, D.C., to discuss whether the history of stratospheric ozone protection offered a useful case study about how to catalyze global action on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

Their simple answer: No.

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Linking rising atmospheric concentrations of chlorine from CFCs to ozone’s disappearance was so clear and straightforward, he says, that afterward, no one questioned the strength of the science. “We probably don’t have the equivalent yet with climate change,” he points out.

Robert Watson agrees. Science pointing to ozone impacts from CFCs was not only something that the public and policymakers could understand, but it also compellingly drove home recognition of the threat these pollutants posed to life on Earth, says this chief science advisor to the United Kingdom’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (with appointments at the World Bank and University of East Anglia).

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