The Montreal Protocol was adopted in1980s. The purpose is to protect the ozone layer. Now a study shows that banning chlorofluorocarbons is the main brake of climate change-otherwise the earth will get warmer. There are two main reasons for this.

Without the Montreal Protocol to protect the ozone layer, the earth would obviously be warming. This is a report based on computer simulation by an international research group in Nature magazine. Scientists investigated how much plant growth would be reduced if the thin ozone layer would reduce the protection of the earth's ultraviolet solar radiation (UV radiation). Because the less plants grow, the less carbon dioxide (CO2) is bound in plants.

The ozone layer in the upper atmosphere protects the earth from dangerous ultraviolet radiation. Because ozone can neutralize UV-A radiation and most UV-B radiation. From 65438 to 0980, people realized that some chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) would destroy the ozone layer. In the Montreal Protocol, the international community agreed to completely stop the production of these substances.

How will the climate develop without a ban?

A team led by paul young of Lancaster University is now simulating how the climate will develop if CFCs and similar substances are not banned. To this end, they linked the damage of ozone depletion, climate change, carbon cycle and ultraviolet radiation to plants.

Climate change leads to record ozone loss.

Experiments show that UV-B radiation has obvious negative effects on plant biomass. "The increase of ultraviolet radiation will seriously limit the ability of plants to absorb carbon from the atmosphere, which will lead to higher carbon dioxide values and greater global warming," Yang quoted in a statement of his university.

Before it was banned, chlorofluorocarbons were used as refrigerants in refrigerators. The researchers assumed that their output would increase by 3% every year-a situation avoided by the Montreal Protocol. In this case, the absorption of carbon dioxide by plants in the mid-latitude region of the northern hemisphere, including Europe, will be reduced by 20% to 40% in the 1930s and by as much as 70% to 90% in the 1950s. Simulations based on the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were used as comparative values.

Suspicious ozone killer value in the atmosphere

According to the simulation, by the end of 2 1 century, CFC and similar substances will cause the temperature to increase by an additional 2.5 degrees Celsius. Among them, about 0.8 degrees is due to the reduction of carbon dioxide absorption by plants. The second impact is even greater: because ozone-depleting substances are also very effective greenhouse gases, it will increase 1.7 degrees.

"Through our research, we can see that the success of the Montreal Protocol is not only to protect human beings from increased ultraviolet radiation, but also to protect the ability of plants and trees to absorb carbon dioxide," Yang said. The results show how important it is to continue to protect the ozone layer.