1997 OZONE AWARDS TO BE PRESENTED TO 23 INDIVIDUALS/ORGANIZATIONS ON 16 SEPTEMBER
Press Release
ENV/DEV/445
UNEP/9
1997 OZONE AWARDS TO BE PRESENTED TO 23 INDIVIDUALS/ORGANIZATIONS ON 16 SEPTEMBER
19970910 MONTREAL, 9 September (UNEP) -- Twenty-three individuals and organizations who have made outstanding contributions to the protection of the earth's ozone layer will be honoured here on 16 September by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).The 1997 Ozone Awards to be bestowed at a special ceremony during the tenth anniversary celebrations on the signing of the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer. In addition, 16 September has been designated the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer by the United Nations General Assembly. Two years ago, in 1995, 17 individuals and three organizations were similarly honoured on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer.
Nominations for this year's Awards were received from individuals and governments, as well as from environmental and industrial non-governmental organizations (NGOs) active in efforts to preserve the ozone layer. The nominations were reviewed by a distinguished committee of seven previous winners of the Award.
The Ozone Awards recognize people active in the following four categories: science, which is vital for understanding the causes of ozone depletion and providing a sound basis for international action; technology, the source of viable alternatives to ozone-depleting substances; policy and implementation, which leads to public support and international cooperation; and NGOs, which help to raise awareness and catalyse solutions.
The awards ceremony will take place at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) building in Montreal. The 23 winners, listed by category, are:
Science
-- Dr. James G. Anderson carried out in situ measurements on the ER-2 aircraft of the strongly enhanced concentrations of chlorine monoxide over the Antarctic. This demonstrated that the ozone loss in the Antarctic stratosphere was caused by past emissions of chloro-fluorocarbons (CFCs).
-- Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Richard S. Stolarski were the first to indicate the important role of chlorine monoxide in stratospheric ozone
depletion. Dr. Cicerone has been active in the protection of the ozone layer over the past 25 years. Dr. Stolarski was instrumental in taking satellite measurements of global ozone distribution.
-- Dr. Susan Solomon has made fundamental scientific contributions to the understanding of ozone depletion, particularly the Antarctic ozone hole. She proposed the main heterogeneous process leading to chlorine activation on particles in the stratosphere and confirmed the great abundance of reactive chlorine radicals over the Antarctic, thus proving that ozone depletion was due to chlorine monoxide. She also communicated ozone science to the decision-making community through her leadership and active participation in preparing for governments the 1994 Scientific Assessment of the Ozone Layer.
-- Prof. Christos S. Zerefos has conducted ozone research for nearly 20 years. He has hosted numerous symposiums and conferences and advised the fluorocarbon industry for over a decade. Prof. Zerefos advises the European Commission on ozone and ultraviolet (UV) radiation issues, guides an active group of young scientists, and heads the World Meteorological Organization's Northern Hemisphere Ozone Mapping Centre.
-- Dr. Edward C. DeFabo is a photobiologist whose research concentrates on the influence of UV-B radiation on human and animal health, especially the immune system. He has served on many scientific committees, including SCOPE (the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment) and IASC (the International Arctic Science Committee), and edited several influential reports.
-- Dr. Robert C. Worrest has been active in ozone-layer protection since the 1970s when supersonic transportation was considered the main threat to the ozone layer. In 1984, he served as a member of the United States delegation to the UNEP Coordinating Committee on the Ozone Layer. Since 1988, Dr. Worrest has been a member of the UNEP Environmental Effects Assessment Panel on ozone depletion.
Technology
-- Dr. Jonathan Banks has played a critical role in bringing together disparate views on methyl bromide for the benefit of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol. In 1992, he became the first Chair of the Methyl Bromide Technical Options Committee, whose 1994 Methyl Bromide Assessment Report served as a basis for the 1995 Vienna Adjustments for controlling methyl bromide under the Protocol. Dr. Banks has also been influential in developing and promoting alternatives to methyl bromide and has been a member of UNEP's Technology and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) since 1993.
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-- Dr. Suely Machado Carvalho is Co-Chair of the Technology and Economic Assessment Panel and an adviser to UNEP's Industry and Environment office in Paris. In 1988, she organized the first technical group to investigate the use of alternatives to ozone-depleting substances in Brazil. Through her work with Brazilian industry, she also helped to develop projects under the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol for phasing out these substances.
-- Dr. Barbara Kucnerowicz-Polak is Co-Chair of the UNEP Halon Technical Options Committee and a member of the UNEP Technology and Economic Assessment Panel. As adviser to the head of the State Fire Service in Poland, she works to protect the ozone layer, particularly through promoting reductions in the use of halons.
-- Dr. Lambert Kuijpers is a devoted and highly effective Co-Chair of the UNEP Technology and Economic Assessment Panel, as well as Co-Chair of the UNEP Refrigeration Technical Options Committee. He was the first industry expert to publicly advocate taking a new look at the available and emerging options to ozone-depleting substances used in refrigeration and air conditioning.
-- Dr. Melanie Miller is an active and valued member of the UNEP Methyl Bromide Technical Options Committee. She is a technical expert on the development and worldwide implementation of sustainable alternatives to methyl bromide. As a resident of New Zealand, Dr. Miller has also been an advocate for government policies to protect public health from the dangerous increases in UV-B radiation in the southern hemisphere caused by ozone depletion.
Policy, Implementation
-- John Carstensen is one of the founding members of the Secretariat for the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol. He facilitated the initial assessments that supported the phase-out of ozone-depleting substances, as well as the establishment of the Protocol's Non-Compliance Procedure. His tireless efforts as an articulate delegate from Denmark and his deft handling of the Open-ended Working Group as its Co-Chair helped the Parties to take a host of important decisions on further protecting the ozone layer.
-- Ilkka Ristimaki chaired the initial Open-ended Working Group sessions that led to the creation of the Multilateral Fund. As the first chairman of the Fund's Executive Committee, his stewardship during the formative years ensured the equal participation of article 5 (developing countries) and non- article 5 (developed) members. Under his chairmanship, the Executive Committee signed agreements with UNEP, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank, as implementing agencies of the Multilateral Fund.
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-- Sateeaved Seebaluck headed the delegation of Mauritius to the final negotiations of the Montreal Protocol in 1987. He was Co-Chair of the Open- ended Working Group of the Parties in 1996 which dealt with the replenishment of the Multilateral Fund for 1997-1999, resulting in agreed contributions of $540 million. He has championed the interests of low-volume consuming countries and continues to serve as an advisor to UNEP's Technology and Economic Assessment Panel.
-- The Department of Environment of Malaysia has successfully coordinated, monitored and implemented 86 projects on ozone-depleting substances, including the National Halon Bank for Malaysia, the first in Asia. The Department has also spearheaded efforts to limit consumption of ozone-depleting substances in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, where economic growth has encouraged rapidly growing consumption.
-- Prof. Willem J. Kakebeeke was one of the most important initiators of international negotiations for ozone protection. He chaired the first Intergovernmental Negotiation Meeting for the Vienna Convention and was a key actor in preparing the Montreal Protocol and stimulating the Multilateral Fund.
-- Paul S. Horwitz has made outstanding contributions to the cause of the protection of the ozone layer, initially through his role in the Ozone Secretariat in 1989 and since then as an active and influential member of the United States delegation. He devotes a great deal of time and effort to the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund and to UNEP's Industry and Environment Office.
-- Richard E. Benedick played a central role in the development of the Montreal Protocol as chief United States negotiator. His skilful and persuasive diplomacy was instrumental to the Protocol's success. He was an organizer and chair of the critical Leesbury Workshop in September 1986 and contributed to innovative concepts -- notably, the treaty as an evolving process involving periodic reassessments of ozone science, technologies, economics, and environmental impacts. His book Ozone Diplomacy offers a fascinating account of this precedent-setting international treaty from his perspective at the Department of State.
Non-Governmental Organizations
-- Elizabeth Cook has been a director of Friends of the Earth-USA Campaign on Ozone Protection and a leader and constructive force among NGOs active in the phase-out of ozone-depleting substances. Her analysis of the CFC phase-out experience resulted in the important World Resource Institute publication, "Marking a Milestone in Ozone Protection".
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-- Northern Telecom (NORTEL) was the first multinational telecommunication company to announce its plans to eliminate CFC-113 solvents from its operations. This 1988 pledge was realized in 1991. NORTEL's senior corporate official, Dr. Margaret Kerr, led the first fully successful effort to integrate environment and business strategies. NORTEL is a founding member of the Industry Cooperative for Ozone Layer Protection, a co-developer of No-Clean Soldering, an initiator of the CFC solvent phase-out project in Mexico, and a strong supporter of the UNEP Solvents Technical Options Committee.
-- Greenpeace International played an important role in sensitizing governments to the need to phase out ozone-depleting substances. Not content with this, it developed a refrigerator system that is completely free of ozone-depleting substances. The "Greenfreeze" system was made freely available for commercialization and is now marketed by several large European manufacturers, and several major companies in China are also considering a shift to the use of hydrocarbon coolants. In this way, Greenpeace has made a significant and constructive contribution to the protection of the ozone layer.
-- The Alliance for Responsible CFC Policy is a coalition of about 500 producers and users of CFCs in the United States. In September 1986, it issued an unexpected policy statement supporting international regulation of CFCs, and two years later it announced its support for a phase out of CFCs. The Alliance also promoted the phase-out by developing alternatives and introducing them quickly into its members' industries. Many Alliance members serve in the Panels and Committees of the Protocol and help to disseminate new technologies.
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