In 1987, the Montreal Protocol established a ban on substances responsible for destroying the ozone layer, which is essential for protection against the sun’s rays.
Rocket emissions in the upper atmosphere can damage the ozone layer but are neither measured nor regulated. It’s a policy gap we have to close if the space industry is to grow sustainably.
When solar particles reach the Earth, they not only produce spectacular auroras but also contribute to the chemical reactions leading to ozone depletion, which in turn influences climate patterns.
Artificially dimming the sun, by injecting reflective particles into the upper atmosphere, could reduce the risk of Day Zero level droughts in Cape Town by more than 90% in the future.
Molina, who died on Oct. 8, ‘thought climate change was the biggest problem in the world long before most people did.’ His research on man-made depletion of the ozone layer won the 1995 Nobel Prize.
Mosses are the only plants that can withstand life in East Antarctica’s frozen landscape. But a new study shows that life is getting even harder, as ozone loss and climate change make conditions even drier.
Almost 30 years ago the world responded to the realisation that our ozone layer was in trouble. The resulting Montreal Protocol was a rare example of global cooperation, but there’s no room for complacency.
Earth’s ozone layer shields us from harmful ultraviolet radiation. Nations have been working to reduce ozone-depleting chemicals since the 1980s, but recent studies show that there is still work to do.
Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong
Research Scientist at Space Science Institute and Fellow, Research School of Physics and Engineering and The Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University