The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer

When did we realize ozone depletion was an issue, and how did we fix it? By 1985, the globe had already seen advancements in the scientific understanding of ozone depletion and its impacts on human health and the environment. It was then that the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer was created in response. This agreement is a framework convention that lays out principles agreed upon by many parties. It does not, however, require countries to take control actions to protect the ozone layer. This would come later in the form of the Montreal Protocol.

The Vienna Convention was the first convention of any kind to be signed by every country involved, taking effect in 1988 and reaching universal ratification in 2009. This speaks to the enormity of ozone depletion at the time and the willingness of countries around the world to work together to solve it. The Convention aimed to promote cooperation among nations by exchanging information on the effects of human activities on the ozone layer. In doing so, the creators of the Convention hoped policymakers would adopt measures to combat those activities responsible for ozone depletion.

Today, the Vienna Convention is still making progress.The countries involved meet once every three years to make decisions on important issues including on Research and Systematic observations as well as financial and administrative matters.

Decision XIII/1: Recommendations of the Ozone Research Managers of the Parties to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer at their twelfth meeting

The Conference of the Parties,

Recalling that, pursuant to the objectives defined in its decision I/6, the Ozone Research Managers of the Parties to the Vienna Convention review ongoing national and international research and monitoring programmes to ensure proper coordination of those programmes and identify gaps that need to be addressed,

Recalling Article 3 of the Vienna Convention, which provides that the parties undertake to promote or establish, as appropriate, joint or complementary programmes for systematic observation of the state of the ozone layer and other relevant parameters, as elaborated in annex I to the Convention, which includes substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer,

Noting with appreciation the contributions of the Ozone Research Managers to the work under decision XXXV/14 of the Thirty-Fifth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, on enhancing the global and regional atmospheric monitoring of substances controlled by the Montreal Protocol,

Welcoming decision XXXVI/1 of the Thirty-Sixth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, on enhancing regional atmospheric monitoring of substances controlled by the Montreal Protocol,

Recognizing the need to improve the understanding and accuracy of future projections concerning global ozone amounts, including ozone layer recovery, and the importance of maintaining and enhancing existing capabilities for observing ozone layer and climate variables owing to the changing atmospheric composition and the strong coupling between the behaviour of the ozone layer and changes in climate, as well as the importance of related capacity-building activities in developing countries and countries with economies in transition,

Decides:

  1. To take note with appreciation of the report of the twelfth meeting of the Ozone Research Managers of the Parties to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer;[1]
  2. To encourage parties to adopt and implement, as appropriate, the recommendations of the Ozone Research Managers on the topics of research needs, systematic observations, gaps in the global coverage of atmospheric monitoring of controlled substances and options for enhancing such monitoring, data archiving and stewardship, and capacity‑building;
  3. To also encourage parties to accord priority in particular to:
    1. Research and systematic observation activities, including monitoring of the ozone layer using ground, satellite, aircraft and balloon profiles and monitoring of substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and related substances, to analyse processes influencing the evolution of the ozone layer and its links to climate change;
    2. Maintaining, augmenting, restoring and, where feasible, establishing new long-term capacity and infrastructure for the atmospheric monitoring and observation of substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol and related substances in order to enhance estimates of regional emissions, including in currently unmonitored and under-monitored regions;
    3. Improved management and analysis of observation data, including for international open-access and collaborative research activities, long-term curation and storage, standardization and intercomparability, to support modelling and near real-time assessments;
    4. Support for capacity-building activities in developing countries and countries with economies in transition, including through the continuation and expansion of regular calibration and intercomparison campaigns and the establishment of stations for monitoring of substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol and related substances and through the provision of training and assistance to enable those parties to expand their scientific capacity and participate in ozone research activities, including assessment activities under the Montreal Protocol;
  4. To further encourage the national ozone focal points to improve communication with the Ozone Research Managers to enhance cooperation among the relevant national institutions, such as ministries, space agencies, departments and academia, to ensure proper coordination in the fields of monitoring, research and scientific activities;
  5. To request the Ozone Research Managers, at their thirteenth meeting, to continue to review the situation regarding atmospheric measurements and monitoring of substances controlled by the Montreal Protocol, and to make specific recommendations for further strengthening such atmospheric monitoring.

[1] World Meteorological Organization, “Report of part I of the twelfth meeting of the Ozone Research Managers of the Parties to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer”, Ozone Research and Monitoring Global Atmosphere Watch Report No. 303 (Geneva, 2024); World Meteorological Organization, “Report of part II of the twelfth meeting of the Ozone Research Managers of the Parties to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer”, Ozone Research and Monitoring Global Atmosphere Watch Report No. 304 (Geneva, 2024).