Good news for ozone layer

International Day for Preservation of the Ozone Layer is marked on 16 October. After repeated warnings about an expanding hole in the ozone layer, for once there is some good news to report.

Estimated global emissions of carbon dioxide that contribute to depletion of the ozone layer and global warming, fell in 1998, the first drop recorded while the world economy was growing.

Global emissions of carbon from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas fell last year by 0.5 per cent to 6,320 million tons, according to the Worldwatch Institute in Washington. It also reported that the decline in emission occurred while the world economy expanded 2.5 per cent last year, contradicting arguments that any drive to reduce emissions will damage the economy.

The institute attributes the recent drop in emissions partly to improved energy efficiency and falling coal use, spurred by the removal of energy subsidies. Another reason is that much of the recent economic growth has been in information technologies and services, sectors which are not major energy users.

For more information email

Kate Mawby, US Information Service Research Center:klmwell@usia.gov