New Delhi: The World Ozone Day was celebrated on Friday by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Climate Change, where Valentin Foltescu, Officer in Charge of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) India, said that India's journey under the Montreal Protocol is embarked upon by significant milestones achieved through the constructed efforts of stakeholders.
Foltescu said that India's journey under the Montreal Protocol has embarked on significant milestones achieved through the constructed efforts of stakeholders and UN agencies.
"Since 1992, India has played a leading role in safeguarding the ozone layer. India's journey under the Montreal Protocol has embarked on significant milestones achieved through the constructed efforts of stakeholders, UN agencies," he said. He said that the Montreal Protocol unites nations around a common goal.
"The Montreal Protocol stands as a testament to human ingenuity and international cooperation. This ground-breaking universal agreement recognizes the urgent need to phase out ozone-depleting substances that are found, in our environment, uniting the nations around a common goal," he said.
"India has been at the forefront of this global effort. Over the past three decades, it has successfully implemented 478 projects. India is also demonstrating its strong leadership in addressing climate change," he added.
As per UNEP, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is a multilateral environmental agreement that regulates the production and consumption of nearly 100 human-made chemicals referred to as ozone-depleting substances (ODS). It phases down the consumption and production of the different ODS in a step-wise manner, with different timetables for developed and developing countries.
Resident representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Angela Lusigi, said that India has been at the forefront of implementing the Montreal Protocol. "India has exceeded its initial goal of reducing hydrofluorocarbons by 50% by 2023 and has achieved a 63% reduction," she said.
Lusigi expressed her satisfaction with India's performance and said that since adopting the 1987 Montreal Protocol, 99 per cent of ozone-depleting substances have been eliminated.
"We all celebrate the success of the Montreal Protocol, because it has united the world in phasing out ozone-depleted substances, and it has put the ozone layer on a path to recovery to protect all life on Earth, and we are extremely pleased to say that since adopting the 1987 Montreal Protocol, 99 per cent of ozone-depleting substances have been eliminated and the protected layer above half is being replenished.
India has been at the forefront of implementing the Montreal Protocol," she said. The UNDP representative said that they are working with micro and medium enterprises to discontinue the usage of ozone-depleting substances.
"We're working very closely with the Micro and Medium Enterprises sector in India as a key driver of India's economic growth to phase out ozone-depleting substances," adding, "In India, we are strengthening partnerships between public and private sector actors, and we're also hoping that we can see more investment in research and development and technology transfer to more environmentally friendly, and affordable alternatives," she said.