Ozone layer 'is no longer disappearing and will return to full strength by 2048', says UN report。

　　The ozone layer is no longer disappearing and could be back to full strength by the middle of this century, UN scientists have confirmed。

　　The phasing out of nearly 100 substances once used in products like refrigerators and aerosols has stopped the ozone layer being depleted further, although it is not yet increasing, according to a new United Nations report released last week。

　　And it claimed that international efforts to protect the ozone layer has averted millions of cases of skin cancer worldwide。

　　The ozone layer outside the polar regions is projected to recover to pre-1980 levels by 2048, although the annual springtime ozone hole over the Antarctic is not expected to recover until 2073.

　　Ozone in the stratosphere is important because it absorbs some of the Sun’s dangerous ultraviolet radiation。

　　The report, published jointly by UNEP and the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is the first comprehensive update in four years on the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol phasing out chemicals which accelerate both ozone layer damage and climate change。

　　'It (the Protocol) has protected the stratospheric ozone layer from much higher levels of depletion by phasing out production and consumption of ozone depleting substances,' said the report。

　　The report was written and reviewed by 300 scientists and launched on the UN International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer。

　　Given that many substances that deplete the ozone layer are also potent greenhouse gases, the Montreal Protocol ‘provided substantial co-benefits by reducing climate change,’ it added。

　　In 2010, reductions of ozone-depleting substances as a result of the Protocol, were five times larger than those targeted by the Kyoto Protocol, the greenhouse emissions reduction treaty。

　　'Without the Montreal Protocol and its associated Vienna Convention atmospheric levels of ozone-depleting substances could have increased tenfold by 2050,' Mr Steiner said。

　　'This in turn could have led to up to 20 million more cases of skin cancer and 130 million more cases of eye cataracts, not to speak of damage to human immune systems, wildlife and agriculture.'

　　联合国报告称，臭氧层“没有继续消失，并且会在2048年前完全恢复原状”。

　　联合国的科学家们已证实，臭氧层将不再消失，而且可能在本世纪中叶时恢复原状。

　　根据联合国上周发布的一份最新报告，随着冰箱、喷雾器等产品曾使用的近100种物质逐步被淘汰，臭氧层的进一步耗竭已经得到控制，尽管它还没有开始增加。

　　该报告称，保护臭氧层的全球行动已经在世界范围内防止了数以百万计的皮肤癌病例发生。

　　尽管每年春季出现在南极洲上空的臭氧空洞预计要到2073年才能恢复，但是极地以外地区的臭氧层预计到2048年就可以恢复到1980年以前的水平。

　　平流层的臭氧非常重要，因为它可以吸收一部分有害的太阳紫外线辐射。

　　该报告由联合国环境规划署和联合国世界气象组织联合发布，是四年来首次对《保护臭氧层维也纳公约》和《蒙特利尔议定书》的全面更新。这两份协定逐步废止了加速臭氧层破坏和气候变化的各种化学物质。

　　报告称，“通过逐步废止臭氧消耗物质的生产和消费，它(《议定书》)保护了平流层臭氧层，使其免于更大程度的耗竭。”

　　该报告由300位科学家撰写和审阅，并于联合国的国际臭氧层保护日发布。

　　报告还指出，鉴于许多损耗臭氧层的物质也是很强的温室气体，《蒙特利尔议定书》“通过减缓气候变化带来了实质性的衍生利益”。

　　2010年，由于《议定书》的实施，臭氧消耗物质的减少量，比削减温室气体排放量的协议《京都议定书》规定的目标削减量多出五倍。

　　(联合国环境署总干事)斯特纳先生说：“如果没有《蒙特利尔议定书》及与之相关的《维也纳公约》，大气中臭氧消耗物质的浓度到2050年将增加10倍。”

　　“其相应的后果是增加多达2000万皮肤癌和1.3亿白内障病例，更不用说对人类免疫系统、野生动植物和农业造成的危害了。”