Kenneth King

Accelerating ozone layer protection in developing countries

Abstract The authors argue that the benefits of ozone protection far outweigh the costs. Therefore, the primary objective of international and national action should be benefit maximization via accelerated phaseout of ozone depleting substances across countries and economic sectors. Developing countries abound with opportunities for early low unit abatement cost phaseout through well-designed policies and projects. However, the current international framework provided by the Montreal Protocol tends to focus instead on project-level incremental cost minimization, and does not provide incentives for early action. The authors propose modifications to remedy these shortcomings.