There are ozone holes over the Arctic and Antarctica that are about the size of North America or about five times the size of Germany. With the growing awareness of environmental threats and issues, governments and peoples worldwide have stepped up efforts to protect the Earth. To help prevent the expansion of these holes, which can lead to skin cancer, reduced harvests, the deterioration of building materials, and the greenhouse effect, every year the Ministry of Foreign Affairs assists the Environmental Protection Administration and Industrial Technology Research Institute in organizing a delegation to attend the Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol.
In 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development started promoting the concept of sustainable development, and 26 countries held a series of meetings on how to control the emission of (hydro-) chlorofluorocarbons from industries and in daily life. The United Nations Environment Programme gathered together countries from around the world, resulting in the Montreal Protocol, which was signed in September 1987, and entered into force on January 1, 1989. Articles 11 of the 1976 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights stipulates that “the States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family… and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international co-operation based on free consent.” Article 12 stipulates that they “recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.” The Covenant was followed by the 1985 Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, which calls for cooperation in conducting research and formulating measures to minimize human activities that damage the ozone layer.
#Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Montreal Protocol)
#Depletion of the Ozone Layer
#(Hydro)chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs or CFCs)
#Articles 11 and 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights