Obama Wants to Use Existing Treaty to Fight Global Warming Internationally

The hole in the ozone layer, seen here Sept. 14, 2007, has surpassed the largest size seen in 2008.

Photo: NASA

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The Montreal Protocol is a model for global cooperation around a serious, global environmental issue. Nations came together in 1987 and agreed to phase out the use of chlorofluorocarbons and other gases that deplete the Earth's ozone layer. It will take decades for the ozone hole to recover, because of the long life of those chemicals in the upper atmosphere -- the ozone hole seasonally grows over Antarctica to a size roughly equal to or larger than North America and allows UV radiation to penetrate the stratosphere, leading to an increase in cancer risk and other health and environmental problems on the Earth's surface -- but it's a massive environmental problem on its way to recovery, thanks to a strong global treaty.

Now, the Obama Administration appears poised to use the same treaty to tackle a small but growing contributor to global warming, according to the Associated Press.

To protect the ozone layer, the world replaced CFCs with HFCs -- hydrofluorocarbons -- in refrigerators, air conditioners and the like. But it turns out HFCs are a greenhouse gas, more powerful but not as long-lived as carbon dioxide. (While HFCs account for only about 2% of greenhouse gases, their use is growing, along with their impact.) Other options exist that neither deplete the ozone layer nor add to the greenhouse gas burden.

This won't solve global warming. But it demonstrates two important things: One, the world has already come together to tackle tough environmental problems. And two, the United States -- the linchpin in any global warming treaty -- is ready to lead.

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