9 A Pentland Centre Research & Impact Digest, 2025 1 The Montreal Protocol (MP) is a global agreement to protect the Earth’s ozone layer by phasing out the production and use of ozone-depleting substances. The MP was finalised in 1987 and went into effect on January 1st, 1989. 2 The Protocol mandates for three four-yearly reports under the auspices of the UN environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization. These consider the science, environmental effects, and economic and technical considerations related to the ozone layer and ozone depleting substances. 3 Pentland Centre member Dr Paul Young contributed to the 2014 and 2018 Scientific Assessment Panel reports. He was a lead author on the 2022 Scientific Assessment Panel report. He contributed to the 2018 Environmental Effects Assessment Panel report, and the 2020 update. 4 In summer 2021, Paul was lead author on a Nature article: The Montreal Protocol protects the terrestrial carbon sink. The article was the first to quantify how the MP has had benefits for CO2. By protecting the ozone layer, the MP also protected the world’s biosphere, including its ability to store carbon. Without the MP, the world would have warmed more this century because the carbon that forests would have stored would have led to extra CO2 in the atmosphere. 5 As a result of the article, Paul wrote about the findings for The Conversation; was interviewed by BBC Radio 4’s Inside Science; and co-wrote a blog for Nature on lessons that can be learned from the MP for other climate treaties. The Montreal Protocol Effect
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