"We would have faced scorched earth": how the climate was affected by the ban on chlorofluorocarbons

In the 1980s, it became known that the ozone layer, which protects the Earth fromultraviolet radiation from the Sun,

It is destroyed by chlorofluorocarbons – compounds of fluorine, chlorine and hydrocarbons used as refrigerants and components of building materials. The most common chlorofluorocarbons is difluorodichloromethane (Freon R 12, Freon-12, Halon-12, CFC-12, R-12)

By that time, their emissions had already created ozone holes over Antarctica and the Arctic, where ozone concentrations had become close to zero.That is why the Montreal Protocol was concluded: it is considered to be the most successful example of international cooperation in the field of environmental protection.

In the new work, the scientists decided to study how the action of the Montreal Treaty affected the climate: they calculated what the climate would look like if there was no ban on CFCs. 

If freon emissions continued, it would becomewould be a disaster not only for human health, but also for plant life. An increased level of ultraviolet radiation would dramatically worsen the flora's ability to absorb carbon dioxide, which would accelerate its accumulation in the atmosphere and raise the temperature by several degrees. We hope this scenario never comes true.

Paul Young, Research Fellow, Lancaster University

The study found that average temperatures on Earth would rise by an additional 2.5°C by 2100 even if CO2 emissions were reduced to zero right now.

Of this number of degrees - 1.7-2 ° С are associated with the greenhouse, and the remaining 0.5-0.8 ° С would fall on the effect of ozone holes.

Plants and soils could be 325–690 billion tonnes less carbon by 2080–2099 than current projections.

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