The Montreal Protocol

In 1987, to address the destruction of the ozone layer, the international community established the Montreal Protocol on ozone-depleting substances. It was the first international treaty to be signed by all countries of the world and is considered the greatest environmental success story in the history of the United Nations.

The Montreal Protocol’s objective is to cut down the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances, in order to reduce their presence in the atmosphere and thus protect the Earth's ozone layer.

The chart below shows the decreasing consumption of ozone-depleting substances covered by the Montreal Protocol, both globally and by the EEA-33 (the 28 EU Member States plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey).