The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer: Can It Keep Us All from Needing Hats, Sunglasses, and Suntan Lotion

Authors

Paul R. Tourangeau

Abstract

Damage to the earth's stratospheric ozone layer is an inherently international issue requiring a forthright and fresh approach to international problem solving. The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is a landmark environmental treaty. It requires participating nations to freeze and then reduce production and consumption of economically valuable, but environmentally harmful, chemical compounds. This Note analyzes the efficacy of the provisions of the Protocol in light of both the original and new information on damage to the ozone layer. Discussion will focus on the structure and content of the chemical control measures, concessions for less developed nations, international trade restrictions, and adjustment mechanisms in the event greater or reduced measures are required in the future. In light of new information revealing substantial depletion of the ozone layer, the author concludes that unless the participating nations implement more stringent control measures through the Protocol's adjustment mechanisms, the document will fall short of ceasing ozone destruction.

Recommended Citation

Paul R. Tourangeau, The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer: Can It Keep Us All from Needing Hats, Sunglasses, and Suntan Lotion, 11 Hastings Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 509 (1988).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_international_comparative_law_review/vol11/iss3/5