A critical review of the successful CFC phase-out versus the delayed methyl bromide phase-out in the Montreal Protocol

Abstract

Montreal Protocol, CFCs, Critical use exemptions, Ecological modernization, Global civil society, Individualism, Methyl bromide, Neoliberalism,

Agricultural production: assessment of the potential use of Cas9-mediated gene drive systems for agricultural pest control

“…castaneum and other stored grain pests have traditionally been controlled via methyl bromide fumigation of grain elevators, granaries, and flour mills. However, use of methyl bromide has been banned due to its impact on atmospheric ozone (Gareau 2010). Despite having a worldwide ban on methyl bromide, exemptions still exist for the use of methyl bromide as a fumigant, since alternatives are more expensive, labor intensive, and/or simply not viable for particular applications (Fields and White 2002).…”

Sociology in Global Environmental Governance? Neoliberalism, Protectionism and the Methyl Bromide Controversy in the Montreal Protocol

“…My arguments here are based mainly on my observations of agriculture operating at the global scale of environmental governance from a global environmental sociological perspective [3,4,14,[30][31][32][33][34]. GEG is designed to seek ways to make social organization more ecologically sustainable.…”

“…Utilizing the precautionary principle, the global community agreed that measures needed to be taken to avert the effects of a depleting ozone layer on humans and natural ecosystems (For recent discussion and analysis of the Montreal Protocol, see special issue of the Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences (5:2), in particular: [2][3][4][5]). While the science of ozone depletion has become extremely robust, and our knowledge of atmospheric chemistry is much more certain, in the early days of ozone protection it was necessary to place the risks of a depleting ozone layer ahead of existing uncertainties in the science, to take action prior to fully comprehending the effects that substances created by humans were having on the Earth's protective layer [6,7].…”

The limited influence of global civil society: international environmental non-governmental organisations and the Methyl Bromide Controversy in the Montreal Protocol

“…In 1987, the legally binding Montreal Protocol was adopted, designed to phase out most CFCs from production and consumption (Benedick 1998). Some 20 years after ratification, the Montreal Protocol now includes 196 nation-states, a large increase from the original 60 participants (Gareau 2010).…”

“…At the same time, the predicted date of ozone layer recovery was extended almost 20 years to 2070 (Environment News Service 2005. Due to such signs of environmental damage, IENGOs, ozone scientists, and many countries adamantly opposed the United States' MeBr phase-out exemptions (see DuPuis and Gareau 2008, Gareau 2008, Gareau and DuPuis 2009, Gareau 2010.…”