CFCs were acceptable in the 80s

When I was 8, I would berate my mum for her excessive use of hairspray (it was the 80s, shoulder pads & big hair were acceptable). I was aware of the damage that CFCs were doing to the ozone layer and was looking to my mum to ‘fix it’. I’m pleased to say my greatest fears for the ozone layer were never realised; thanks to the Montreal Protocol (Adopted on 15 September 1987, the Protocol is to date the only UN treaty ever to be ratified by all 198 UN Member States) and my mum ditching the hairspray.
 
Now I have an 8 year old daughter, she gets angry when she sees adults buying bottled water or not recycling. Rightly so, she expects the grown-ups to ‘fix’ the climate issues we have created. The success of the Montreal Protocol, gives me hope that with the right global efforts we can ensure that her worst fears for the climate are not realised. If we get it right, perhaps the next generation of 8 year olds will be spared from climate anxiety and will have to find something else to berate the adults in their lives for.

Read more about the Montreal Protocol here >