Saving the Ozone May Slow Earth's Warming Rate

By Tim Radford

November 11, 2013  |  Scientists who looked at the whole history of climate in the 20th century have come up with a new possible explanation for the apparent slowdown in global warming. It is because, they say, of the Montreal Protocol that banned chlorofluorocarbons, also known as CFCs, and saved the ozone layer.

 

The ozone layer was the second great atmospheric crisis of the late 20th century (the first involved the urban smog and acid rain that triggered clean air legislation in Europe and the US). CFCs were the safe, enduring gases used as refrigerants: their only problem was that - once they reached the stratosphere - they unexpectedly began to destroy the ozone layer that screens out harmful ultraviolet light.