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Could the solution to global warming be as simple as a switch of cities?
For those who think the Kyoto Protocol is not working to cut greenhouse gas emissions that are heating the planet, why not take some lessons from the Montreal Protocol, praised as the world's most successful climate treaty?Both the UN and the Bush administration plan to try out this idea this week as parties to the treaty gather in Montreal, 20 years after the pact to cut ozone-depleting chemicals was signed.The Montreal Protocol aims to cut down on emissions of chemicals that deplete the stratospheric ozone layer, which shields earth from ultraviolet solar radiation that can cause skin cancer and other ailments.The ozone layer is still thin in spots, especially over the south pole, but the treaty is considered a raging success because it mapped a way to cut production of ozone-depleting substances.So far, 191 countries from the developed and developing world have signed this pact, and have phased out more than 95% of ozone-depleting substances.Because some chemicals that eat stratospheric ozone also contribute to global warming, the UN Environment Programme and the White House plan to urge speeding up some requirements of the Montreal Protocol.They argue that this would have a bigger impact on climate change than the Kyoto Protocol, signed in Japan in 1997."We will push for an agreement among the parties to accelerate the phase-out of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), chemicals that not only destroy the ozone layer, but contribute significantly to climate change," the US State Department said in a statement before the meeting.
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/2007/2034605.htm?enviro
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