Scientists find an exception in the Montreal Protocol for the use of ozone-depleting feedstocks could set the recovery of the ozone layer back seven years.

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An international team of scientists including MIT researchers has found that a loophole in the Montreal Protocol — which exempts ozone-depleting substances used as chemical feedstocks — could delay ozone layer recovery by approximately seven years. While the protocol successfully phased out most uses of CFCs and similar chemicals, feedstock leakage rates have been revised upward from an assumed 0.5% to about 3.6%. Under the current leakage baseline, ozone recovery to 1980 levels would be pushed from around 2066 to 2073. The researchers call for tighter emissions controls, alternative chemicals, or reduced leakage from industrial processes, noting that the delay translates to a meaningful increase in UV-related health harms like skin cancer.

A regulatory loophole could delay ozone recovery by years