ABSTRACT
How did a theory with several holes in it prompt such rapid international action in the form of the Montreal Protocol? The answer can be found by analysing who gained from CFC abatement.
First, researchers into atmospheric chemistry. In 1992, a US government chief meteorologist, Melvyn Shapiro, commented about the ozone scare:
Second, chemical companies. The price of CFCs went up by 30 per cent after the Montreal Protocol. Was it a coincidence that most of Du Pont’s CFC patents had run out? They were making only 2 per cent of their profits from CFCs and they were the leaders in alternative technologies – with high profit margins.
