By Hannah Torregoza
Senator Loren Legarda on Sunday sounded the call for every Filipino to continue doing their part in protecting the ozone layer in keeping with the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty that encourages environmental protection amid climate change.
Senator Loren Legarda
(Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
Legarda made the call as the country celebrates the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. The senator, a United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) Global Champion for Resilience, joined this year’s activity, themed “Keep Cool and Carry On: The Montreal Protocol”, where everyone is encouraged to carry on with efforts to protect the ozone layer and the climate under the international treaty.
The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion.
“Keeping our commitments under the Montreal Protocol, particularly through the phase-out of controlled uses of ozone-depleting substances and related reductions, has resulted in the healing of our ozone layer,” Legarda said.
“This goes to show that when nations work together, we can protect the earth,” Legarda said.
The Protocol has promoted the banning of the use of substances that are responsible for ozone depletion such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs).
Legarda said she hopes that the same unity manifested in implementing the Montreal Protocol can be shown in addressing climate change.
“Nothing is impossible if we all work together and I hope that all nations can unite once again to address the climate crisis,” she said.
“Let us implement the Paris Agreement with the same effort, or even greater when we successfully implemented the Montreal Protocol,” she said.
“Let us take all the necessary actions immediately to limit global warming to 1.5°C,” she reiterated.
“As we celebrate the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, let us be reminded that no challenge is too great if all nations, all of humanity, will unite to protect our only home,” she stressed.
Legarda said development need not come at the cost of the environment and the survival of the earth.