International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,

I am delighted to join you today at this commemoration of the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer - which celebrates over two and half decades of global collaboration and local action on environmental stewardship.

As has already been said, we are here to celebrate the 1987 Montreal Protocol which has turned out to be a landmark multilateral environmental agreement in regulating the consumption and production of nearly 100 man-made ‘ozone-depleting substances’ which were destroying our natural ‘sunscreen’ without which life on earth would already have become unbearable by now.

All global agreements are as good as their implementation by member states and eventually also boil down to how they are understood and acted upon by individual and corporate citizens.

Let me start, therefore, by congratulating the Kingdom of Eswatini for the commendable way it brought home this important protocol and for the extensive work done in the elimination of ozone depleting substances (ODS) in the country.

Because of these efforts, Eswatini achieved the total elimination of chloroflourocarbons (CFCs)in 2007, 3 years before the 2010 target set by the Montreal Protocol. Eswatini is also in full compliance with phase-out obligations of hydrochloroflourocarbons (HFCFs) and on course to meet 67.5% reduction by 2025.

These achievements required national policy alignments and the cooperation, investment and partnership among the government, the private sector and international partners. The total elimination of ozone depleting substances and HFCs in the refrigeration manufacturing sector at Palfridge in Matsapha is indeed a success story for the Kingdom and must be celebrated.

It is inspiring to see how, under the leadership of the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Eswatini consistently leverages various platforms, from social media to traditional media and event activations, to raise awareness about environmental issues and build ownership and motivate action.

You are not only imparting knowledge but actually building an ecosystem of environmental stewards. This comprehensive approach ensures that the message of environmental responsibility reaches a wide and diverse audience.

I would like to commend international organizations and agencies, along with the Multilateral Funds for supporting the Kingdom of Eswatini in the implementation of the Montreal Protocol. This cooperation has helped the country to develop the necessary infrastructure and expertise to manage and phase out ODS effectively and provides a key lesson for responding to the current challenge of climate change.

I also want to acknowledge UN lead agencies in this area – UNEP (the United Nations Environment Programme) and UNDP (the United Nations Development Programme) for supporting the Kingdom through the Ministry of Tourism and Environment Affairs and the Eswatini Environmental Authority (EEA) – leading to remarkable success over the years.

Honourable minister, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

The commemoration today is taking place at a time when world leaders have converged in New York for the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, which also marks the halfway point to the end of the period set to achieve sustainable development.

The key issue of our time is the climate catastrophe that is looming over us. Just yesterday, world leaders were meeting at the high-level Climate Ambition Summit, where they were expected to generate new, tangible and credible action to save the planet.

While the urgency of the climate crisis is undeniable, hesitation, procrastination, blame-games, and about-turns still dominate where quick, decisive and collective action is called for.

We are therefore in need of a good story, and the Montreal Protocol is one such good story: Earlier this year, the UN Secretary-General noted that the restoration of the ozone layer was "an encouraging example of what the world can achieve when we work together".

While recognising that the efforts required in repairing the ozone layer and reversing climate change are not at all at the same scale, we can still learn from studying the success of the Montreal Protocol which is considered one of the greatest environmental successes in human history.

First, the protocol remains the only U.N. treaty to be unanimously ratified by all U.N. member states. This shows that the world was quick to recognise an immediate threat to humanity and act on it and, today, the ozone hole is repairing itself and is expected to make a full recovery in the coming decades.  The same global unanimity and action is called for today to save the planet.

Second, although the ozone problem is narrower than climate change, both problems are human caused, both problems have scientific consensus and both problems, despite scientific complexities, can be reversed through concerted change in human behaviour. Simply stated, burning fossil fuels emits gasses that trap heat and make the planet warmer. What is missing is not scientific consensus but rather political consensus and will.

Third, to solve a crisis, it helps to bring it in check quickly. The Montreal Protocol worked because an international committee assembled and solved the issue with the urgency the crisis demanded. They recognized that every day they didn’t address CFCs made the problem worse. The longer we take to act on climate change, the more painful it will be, eventually. This message has been repeated countless times by the UN Secretary-General.

Fourth, a large part of Montreal Protocol’s success has been its ability to keep up with the times and the science through learning and amendments. For example, while we replaced CFCs with HCFC (hydrochlorofluorocarbons) and then HFCs (hydroflorocarbon) we now know that HFCs are major contributors to climate change even the they don’t harm the ozone layer. The 2016 Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol therefore proposes to phase out HFCs, starting with higher-income countries and working down toward all counties by 2024.

Thus, rather than engaging in scientific hair-splitting while the planet burns, it is better to get started with what we know, act on it, and improve as we go along.

Fifth, the Montreal Protocol sparked a perfect example of the transformative power of multilateralism and active citizenship in addressing environmental challenges. Countries with the ability to provide the resources quickly lined up funding to support less-able countries to transition from the harmful gasses. This is unlike the situation with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change where only USD 10 billion of the projected USD100 billion to support climate action has been realised.

Sixth, communication and public awareness of the dangers that CFCs posed contributed immensely to support change – including individuals deciding not to buy any products with CFCs in them – which in turn drove industry to change as well. We will do well to focus on public education. A major hinderance to climate action remains the political will needed to rethink our economic model and beginning the urgent transitions needed.

Finally, we will need to build citizen alliances, including through women and the youth, to help drive behavioural change and drive consumer demand for climate action and green transitions.

As I conclude, then, I once again commend Eswatini for its immense contribution to saving the ozone layer. The lesson learnt from the Montreal Protocol – from policy to private sector roles to public engagement – can be a good stepping stone for our response to the climate crisis. The preservation of the planet is about cultivating leaders who are committed to clean development mechanisms, active citizenship and environmental stewardship.

May our collective efforts pave the way for a greener, cleaner and more sustainable tomorrow for all!

I thank you.