[논&설] ‘Decision to break’ with climate change | yunhap news

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Editorial Writer Jae-Hoon Hwang = An emergency occurred on the 9th when the Korean peninsula was included in the forecast interval of the fall of the US Earth observation satellite ‘ERBS’, which was falling towards the Earth. The Ministry of Science and ICT issued a notice and convened the Space Hazard Countermeasures Headquarters, and as the estimated time of the crash approached, a text message on safety in case was sent to the public. disaster report which read: “Debris from a US satellite was found near the Korean Peninsula between 12:20 and 1:20 p.m.” It’s likely to fall.” Fortunately, the satellite crashed into the sea near Alaska without any damage.

The crashed ERBS is an Earth observation satellite that has been tasked with observing and analyzing the distribution of Earth’s thermal radiation since it was launched by the Challenger Space Shuttle in October 1984. It observed the Earth’s atmosphere for 21 years until 2005, far exceeding the original two-year mission period. This satellite has revealed that the ozone layer, which protects life on Earth by blocking the sun’s ultraviolet rays in the stratosphere, is gradually disappearing. In this way it is estimated that he contributed to the signing of the Montreal Protocol in 1987, which aimed to regulate substances that deplete the ozone layer.

The day after the ERBS collapse brought good news about the ozone depletion problem. According to a report released jointly by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), “the ozone depletion will decline in most of the world by 2040 if current policies continue and is expected to return to 1980 levels by 2020.” Polar regions, which have been severely damaged, are expected to return to that level later, the Arctic by 2045 and Antarctica by 2066. It is very encouraging because it can be interpreted as evidence that the global environment can be greatly improved through human efforts.

The ozone layer refers to the area where ozone concentration is high in the stratosphere, which is part of the upper atmosphere. In 1974, the hypothesis was put forward that freon gases (CFCs, chlorofluorocarbons), which at the time were used as refrigerants in refrigerators, destroy the ozone layer. Since then, global conservation efforts have begun. The release of satellite images of the ozone hole over Antarctica caused a stir and the urgency was raised. In 1987, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed and efforts began to reduce serious substances worldwide.

The Montreal Protocol, which went into effect in 1989, contains bans and restrictions on the use of substances that destroy the ozone layer, such as chlorofluorocarbons, freon gas and halons. Korea also joined this protocol in February 1992 and promulgated the Law on the Regulation of Production of Specific Substances that Protect the Ozone Layer in 1991 to determine the issues necessary for domestic implementation. Worldwide CFC use is estimated to have decreased by approximately 99% since the Montreal Protocol went into effect. In other words, 35 years after the adoption of the protocol, a clear recovery trend was confirmed and a specific recovery period was predicted.

There is the prospect of the ozone layer being restored through human efforts, but if we expand human efforts to the climate crisis as a whole, there is still a long way to go. Countries around the world specified targets to limit temperature rise from global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels through the Paris climate accord in 2015, but actual results are still insignificant. . Last year, natural disasters caused by extreme weather conditions such as heatwaves, droughts, forest fires, heavy rains and floods occurred all over the world. Climate change has been singled out as a cause of extreme weather disasters.

In the midst of all this, the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) held in Egypt in November last year attracted attention, but little progress has actually been made on further reducing of greenhouse gases. “Our planet is still in the emergency room. We need to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions now, but we failed to do it in this General Assembly,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres sadly. It is hoped that humanity’s joint response to the destruction of the ozone layer and the tangible effects will accelerate the “decision to break” with climate change and become another stimulus and “reinforcer” that strengthens human efforts.

[email protected]

Report via KakaoTalk okjebo
<저작권자(c) 연합뉴스,
Unauthorized reproduction – redistribution prohibited>
2023/01/10 16:19 Submit