OZONE DEFENCE

What do pop star Tata Young, Art of Living guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Doraemon and the mascots for the Beijing Olympics have in common? One word: Ozone. Tata, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Doraemon and the Beijing Olympics mascots have all recorded video public service announcements (PSAs) that will soon be released in Thailand and across the region to highlight the approaching ozone depleting substances (ODS) phase-out deadline on January 1, 2010, and the need for sustained vigilance and action as our lives continue to be threatened by global warming.

OZONE HOLE: The Antarctic ozone hole in an image provided by Nasa. The size of the hole—in purple—was equal to the record single-day largest area of 29.5 million km2, reached on September 9, 2000. The so-called hole is a region where there is severe depletion of the layer of ozone in the upper atmosphere that protects life by blocking the sun’s ultraviolet rays.

Tata said she is proud to be an ambassador for such a good cause.

"The ozone is something we do not see. But now, you have to look closer at it. Look at spray cans - instead of using spray cans for mineral water, you can use simple stuff," Tata told the audience at the launch of the campaign at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) on May 20.

Are there any controversies arising from Tata's campaign to save the ozone?

Probably not. The singer said her campaign will focus on informing people and advocating realistic changes such as patronising only CFC-free products.

"We are not here today to tear the air-conditioners apart, but to tell people to see things that they did not see,"she said.

Phasing out is not a hard thing to do. Consumers can look for "CFC-free" labels and house or car owners can use CFC-free coolants in their air-conditioners.

The stratospheric ozone layer is Earth's protective shield, filtering out harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Its depletion, triggered by chemicals with ODS such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), first noticed in the late 1970s, threatens the very basis of our life on Earth.

Ozone depleting substances (ODS) are man-made chemicals mainly used in air-conditioners and refrigeration applications (CFCs and HCFCs), Metered Dose Inhalers (MDIs), fire-extinguishers (halons), solvents and process agent applications (CTC) and agriculture (methyl bromide).

The 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, often considered the single most successful international environmental agreement, assists countries to progressively phase out their production and consumption of ODS, with help through a financial mechanism known as the Multilateral Fund.

So far, the $2.5 billion (86 billion baht) has been disbursed to developing nations, including Thailand, to replace old technologies and produce non-CFC products.

CELEBRITY ADVOCATE: Tata Young is known for more than just singing and dancing. In 2007 she campaigned against human trafficking. Now she is campaigning to save the ozone.

Most of these chemicals are also potent global warming gases, so the phase-out delivers significant climate benefits.

However, the protocol's own success has spawned the general perception that ODS such as CFCs are a thing of the past, according to Atul Bagai, regional coordinator at Unep and expert on ozone protection.

Not so! The year 2010 is the most crucial time for developing countries to meet their compliance obligations under the Montreal Protocol. This is when developing countries must phase out CFC, CTC and halon consumption and production.

Many challenges remain, not least of which is the illegal trade in ODS.

One of the toughest challenges is the issue of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), a class of greenhouse gas commonly used as coolant in refrigerators and air-conditioners.

The treaty encourages the use of HFCs to replace ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, that have now been virtually eliminated.

But while HFCs do not harm the ozone layer, they are especially potent greenhouse gases - up to 10,000 times worse than carbon dioxide (CO2). HFCs account for only about 2% of the globe's climate-warming gases, but scientists say eliminating the use of HFCs would spare the world an amount of greenhouse gases equal to about a third of all CO2 emissions in two to four decades.

How are you helping to reduce your carbon footprint or save the environment?

Share your eco-friendly activities with us by emailing outlook@bangkokpost.co.th, with 'Earth Alert' as the subject.