Interlinkages between Climate Change, Ozone Depletion, and Air Pollution: The International Legal Framework

Abstract

Climate change is closely interconnected with other environmental problems, including stratospheric ozone depletion, and local and regional air pollution. Such interlinkages have created opportunities for strengthening the global response to climate change, and international legal regimes outside the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), notably the ozone regime, have made important contributions to climate change mitigation. This realisation has led to calls for a disaggregated approach to the various gases and sources responsible for global warming, where different regimes would each address a small piece of the puzzle. This chapter first examines the interlinkages between climate change, ozone depletion, and air pollution. It then sketches the international regulatory landscape, reviewing how other regimes have contributed to climate objectives. The chapter ends with a discussion of the promises and pitfalls of a piecemeal approach to international climate change law.

Keywords: Air pollution; Arctic Council; Climate and Clean Air Coalition; Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution; International Maritime Organization; Montreal Protocol; Ozone depletion; Short-lived climate pollutants

JEL Classification: K20, K32