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PHOTOGRAPHY: IAN PARKER. INFOGRAPHIC: ADAPTED FROM OXFAM’S COMMITMENT TO REDUCING INEQUALITY INDEX

A happy atmosphere

T

hree decades ago, scientists

were sounding alarm bells

over the parlous state of the

ozone layer. It was suffering

severe degradation due to man-made

aerosol chemicals in the atmosphere.

It is now estimated that the layer

will fully recover by 2060 – a

turnaround that highlights what is

possible with concerted global action.

Widespread concerns about the

ozonelayer–afragilemassofgasin

the stratosphere that shields Earth

fromharmfulUVrays–wereraised

in the 1980s, when scientists found

that it was shrinking due to the

prevalence of chlorof luorocarbons

Damage to

the ozone

layer above

Antarctica

could be

repaired

by 2060

(CFCs) and halons. The gases were

commonly used in aerosols and

refrigerators. These warnings led to

the signing in 1987 of the Montreal

Protocol, which committed nations to

reducing the production of such gases.

The UN estimates that the layer’s

recovery could mean up to two million

fewer cases of skin cancer every year.

There are benefits for climate change,

as well, as some of the gases that

caused thinning of the ozone layer

warmed the atmosphere, too.

However, the substances that have

replaced CFCs (called HFCs) also

contribute to climate change. As a

result, at the time of going to press,

THE UN SAYS THAT THE OZONE LAYER ABOVE THE

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE WILL BE FULLY REPAIRED BY

THE 2030S AND THE ENTIRE LAYER BY 2060

By GAVIN HAINES

GOOD THINGS

POSITIVE NEWS* FROM AROUND THE WORLD

60 countries, but not yet the US, have

ratified an addition to the Montreal

Protocol. Called the Kigali amendment,

this document agrees to cut production

and consumption of HFCs by more

than 80% over the next 30 years.

Tina Birmpili, of the UN’s Ozone

Secretariat, warns: “We can be proud

of what we’ve achieved, but we must

also focus on what more we can do.”

FAIR GAME The nations that are challenging inequality

•Namibiaspends

the world’s second

highest percentage

of overall budget on

education, providing

all students with

free secondary

school education.

LOW-INCOME

COUNTRIES

spend a

much larger

proportion of

their budget

on education

than high-

income

countries.

Zimbabwe

spent nearly

⅓ of its budget

on education

for the 3rd year

in a row in 2014.

The country

has one of the

best teacher–

pupil ratios

in the world. Liberia has the

world’s highest

minimum wage

compared to

GDP per capita.

In focus: Namibia

• The Namibian
  government has more
  than halved the poverty
  rate from 53% to 23%
  since 1990.


• It has reduced
  annual malaria
  cases by 97%
  within 10 years.

LIVING (^) | GAZETTE