The Acting Executive Director of the National Environment Agency (NEA), Mrs. Ndey Siren Bakurin, has expressed the need for all and sundry to come together as a unified force to tackle the problems of protecting and preserving the ozone layer.

Mrs Bakurin, who was speaking at the opening of a day forum on World Ozone Day celebration 2009, on the theme “Universal Participation on Ozone Protection”, last Wednesday said this year’s celebration is unique in the sense that the Montreal Protocol as a multilateral environment agreement has attained universal ratification, which she noted, is a remarkable achievement.

According to the NEA boss, a lot has been done by developing countries to totally eliminate substances that deplete the ozone layer, but the world is currently faced with serious environmental hazards resulting from some harmful effects of climate change. “Global warming is another environmental threat the world is facing and some refrigerants used in our air conditioning systems contribute to the warming of the earth many times than the normal green house gases like carbon monoxide emitted from our cars and factories”, she said.

She noted that the Montreal Protocol focuses on the protection of the earth’s ozone layer, which she added, has enabled both developed and developing countries to achieve a near total phase-out in the production and use of most ozone depleting substances.

“The majority of ozone depleting substances is also potent global warming gasses, the actions taken under the Montreal Protocol have contributed significantly to the global effort to address climate change”, she concluded.