A political commitment to manage hydrofluorocarbons under the Montreal Protocol – a huge environmental success that agreed to phase out ozone-depleting chemicals – could be one of the biggest climate change wins in the lead-up to the December’s climate conference, says United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

“Let us ensure that we protect our climate the way we have preserved the ozone layer,” Mr. Ban said in his message for the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, observed annually on 16 September.

Not so long ago, humanity stood on the brink of a self-inflicted catastrophe…But we tackled this challenge.

“Not so long ago, humanity stood on the brink of a self-inflicted catastrophe,” he recalled. “Our use of ozone-depleting substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) had torn a hole in the ozone layer that protects us from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation.

“But we tackled this challenge,” he reminded citizens of the world.

The scientific confirmation of the depletion of the ozone layer prompted the international community to establish a mechanism for cooperation to take action to protect the ozone layer.

This was formalized in the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, which was adopted and signed by 28 countries, on 22 March 1985. In September 1987, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was drafted.