Kerry: ‘One of Most Successful Environmental Agreements in History’ is Actually Driving Climate Change

The Montreal Protocol… was passed in order to address the deeply troubling hole that existed in the ozone layer. And it actually has become one of the most successful environmental agreements in history. Virtually all parties met their obligations under the accord. And nearly 100 of the most ozone-depleting substances have been completely phased out. As a result, the hole in the ozone layer is shrinking and on its way to full repair.

And we can all recall how we kept talking about the growing hole in the ozone, the dangers that it presented to us, and many people doubted whether or not we’d have the capacity to be able to do something about it. Well, we did do something about it. We proved that human beings have the ability to be able to make a difference on the environment, if we, when we, make the choices that are available to us. And now – but then, that’s the good news. The bad news is that the substances banned by the Montreal Protocol have been replaced by substances that cause a different kind of danger. HFCs may be safer for the ozone, but they are exceptionally potent drivers of climate change itself, often thousands of times more potent than, for example, carbon dioxide. So today, the growing use of HFCs [hydrofluorocarbons] in everyday items, like refrigerators or air conditioners, in inhalers, is responsible for an entire gigaton of CO2-equivalent pollution annually. It’s extraordinary.

[T]hink about the cost of trying to move a whole nation if you’re an island state in the Pacific – think about the costs that will come as cyclones and tornadoes and every form of fire, weather, flood begins to more prominently present itself as a yearly, annual, monthly challenge to nation after nation.