In the 1970s the world became aware of a huge danger: the destruction of the stratospheric ozone layer by CFCs escaping into the atmosphere, and the damage this could do to human health and the food chain. So great was the threat that by 1987 the UN had succeeded in coordinating an international treaty to phase out emissions; which, over the following 15 years has been implemented. It has been hailed as an outstanding success. It needed the participation of all the parties: governments, industry, scientists, campaigners, NGOs and the media, and is a model for future treaties. This volume provides the authoritative and comprehensive history of the whole process from the earliest warning signs to the present. It is an invaluable record for all those involved and a necessary reference for future negotiations to a wide range of scholars, students and professionals.

Stephen O Anderson is a Director of Strategic projects in the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Climate Protection Partnerships Division and a Co-chair of the Montreal Protocol Technology and Economic Assessment Panel. He was formerly Deputy Director of the EPA Stratospheric Protection Division where he specialized in industry partnerships, international cooperation and market incentives. Prior to that he was a professor of environmental economics at the College of the Atlantic and the University of Hawaii and a visiting scholar at Kyoto University. He also worked for consumer, environmental organizations. He has a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley

K Madhava Sarma recently retired after working for the United Nations Environment Programme for more than Nine years as the Executive Secretary of the Secretariat for the Vienna Convention and the Montreal protocol, the ozone protection treatise. He has been associated with all the major developments of the treatise and assisted the governments in their efforts to protect the ozone layer. Previously, he held senior positions in the government of India and helped articulate the developing country positions on global environmental issues. He has vast experience in working on environmental issues in India

The Science of Ozone depletion: From Theory to Certainty * Diplomacy: the Beginning, 1974-1987 * Diplomacy: From Strength to Strength, 1988-1992 * Diplomacy: Racing Towards Success * Technology and Business Policy * Implementation of the Montreal Protocol * Compliance with the Montreal Protocol * Media Coverage of the Ozone-layer Issue * Environmental NGO's, the Ozone layer and the Montreal Protocol * Notes * List of Acronyms and Abbreviations * Glossary * About the Contributors * Index