The Montreal Protocol and its Implications for Climate Change

The Montreal Protocol has successfully phased out ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) to restore the ozone layer, but it failed to address the high global warming potential of ODSs and their substitutes, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The document highlights the risk of unaddressed ODS banks and the rapid rise of HFC emissions, which could account for 9-19% of global CO2-equivalent emissions by 2050 under business-as-usual scenarios.

• The Montreal Protocol successfully targeted the phase-out of ozone depleting substances (ODSs) to restore stratospheric ozone to pre-1980s levels by the second half of this century, but it failed to address the global warming potential of these substances and their substitutes.
• Existing banks of ODSs remain a significant risk because the treaty did not incentivize their controlled destruction; if not addressed in the next 20 years, these chemicals may be released, impacting both ozone depletion and global warming.
• The transition to hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) as ODS substitutes has increased atmospheric prevalence of gases with high global warming potential. HFCs have a GWP 100 to 12,500 times that of CO2 by mass, and a 2009 study suggests they could account for 9 to 19 percent of projected global CO2-equivalent emissions by 2050 under a business-as-usual scenario.

APA

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (2009). The Montreal Protocol and its Implications for Climate Change. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/issue-brief-the-montreal-protocol-and-its-implications-for-climate-change

Chicago

Environmental and Energy Study Institute. The Montreal Protocol and its Implications for Climate Change. 2009. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/issue-brief-the-montreal-protocol-and-its-implications-for-climate-change.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |title=The Montreal Protocol and its Implications for Climate Change |date=6 October 2009 |url=https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/issue-brief-the-montreal-protocol-and-its-implications-for-climate-change |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{environmentalandenergystudyinstitute2009montreal, author = {{Environmental and Energy Study Institute}}, title = {{The Montreal Protocol and its Implications for Climate Change}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2009}, month = oct, url = {https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/issue-brief-the-montreal-protocol-and-its-implications-for-climate-change}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }