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Journalists and broadcasters play a key role as 'knowledge brokers' in helping the world respond to the multitude of challenges posed by climate change, said Marco González, executive secretary of the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol.
 González was speaking at the conclusion of the Ozone Media Roundtable held in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, on 8 – 9 October 2009. The regional event was convened by TVE Asia Pacific in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
González, who heads the UNEP-managed Ozone Secretariat, noted that climate change is both a major challenge and an opportunity for the world to address issues of sustainability in energy and resource use. In this process, experiences under the Montreal Protocol can be particularly useful to the current negotiations for a new multilateral environmental arrangement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
González recalled that in 2007, governments which are parties to the Montreal Protocol took a historic decision to address the climate impact of their work to protect the ozone layer.
"The Montreal Protocol has also delivered in carbon emission equivalents more than we have been able to deliver with the Kyoto Protocol so far.
"The lessons we have learnt in the Montreal Protocol are equally valid for the negotiations leading up to Copenhagen, and I think have already influenced the nature of the deal…The big prize is to have a deal in Copenhagen that allows a North-South partnership that allows for a transition to a low carbon economy."
- Achim Steiner, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme, in a short film screened at the Ozone Media Roundtable |
He added: "Both the ozone and climate change treaties can now begin to look for synergy at policy level. The Montreal Protocol has, for 22 years, recorded a fantastic chain of successes in regulating and phasing out ozone-depleting chemicals. This was accomplished through many partnerships involving governments and industry in both developed and developing countries."
The Montreal Protocol, adopted in 1987, has now been ratified by all 196 member states of the United Nations, the first inter-governmental treaty to achieve such universal coverage.
In addition to protecting the ozone layer, global efforts to protect the ozone layer have also delivered substantial climate benefits as many of the chemicals that damage the ozone layer -- such as CFCs -- also cause global warming.
Atul Bagai, Regional Coordinator (Networking) of the UNEP OzonAction Programme, said the climate mitigation benefits of the ozone treaty have helped achieve a delay in global warming of seven to 12 years.
He added that sustained coverage in the media can now help countries of the world to address the removal of the gases known as HCFCs and HFCs, both of which were originally promoted as a substitute for CFCs. Parties to the Montreal Protocol have already agreed to an accelerated freeze and phase-out of HCFCs. During 2009, momentum has also been building for adopting a mechanism for phasing out HFCs, which are not currently regulated under the Protocol.
UNEP OzonAction Programme is currently assisting 16 countries in the Asia Pacific region with the preparation of national HCFC Phase-out Management Plans with support from the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol. Along with policy and regulatory changes and technical assistance to the relevant industries, raising public awareness through communications activities forms an important element in these plans, Bagai said.
National communications strategies for HCFC phase-out are already under preparation in China, India and Sri Lanka, while similar strategies would also be initiated in Indonesia and Malaysia in 2010. Integral to these strategies is partnerships with the national and local media.
The Ozone Media Roundtable meeting brought together 15 journalists, broadcasters and communications professionals from 11 countries in East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia, all of who have been covering ozone and/or climate related issues in print, broadcast or online media. They were joined by 9 technical specialists and officials working on ozone or climate related issues at regional or international levels.
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The Ozone Media Roundtable was organised with these objectives: |
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To update the knowledge base of participating media professionals on the current status of ozone layer and Montreal Protocol targets; |
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To clarify and/or update the ozone/climate nexus with the latest information and policy analysis; |
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To seek media professionals' views on how best to promote the Montreal Protocol's experience in current climate change discussions; and |
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To update the knowledge and understanding of participating ozone and climate experts on latest media trends and conditions in Asia. |
List of participants
TVE Asia Pacific conceptualised and convened the meeting in consultation with UNEP Division of Trade, Industry and Economics (UNEP DTIE)'s OzonAction Branch.
This meeting took place parallel to the regional meeting of the network of government officials working for National Ozone Units in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
Photographs by Wipula Dahanayake (TVEAP) and Khalid Hussain |
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