Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer

The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (VCPOL) serves as a framework convention setting out the agreement of the parties, which number 198 as of March 2022, on the issue of ozone layer protection. The parties generally agreed to take appropriate measures in accordance with the VCPOL and applicable protocols to protect human health and the environment against adverse effects resulting or likely to result from human activities which modify or likely to modify the ozone layer. While the obligations agreed upon do not include binding reduction targets for use or production of chlorofluorocarbons, the VCPOL provides the basis for further regulatory action in the international level for ozone layer protection. Significantly, the VCPOL is likely the first major international agreement which accepted the precautionary principle, with the nations agreeing in principle to address a global environmental issue prior to the effects being scientifically established or fully evident.