The 1997 Ozone Awards were bestowed on twenty-three individuals and organizations
who have made outstanding contributions to the protection of the Earth's ozone
layer in Montreal on 16 September 1997.
The event marked the Tenth Anniversary celebrations of the signing of the
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
Nominations for the awards were received from individuals, governments, and
non-governmental organizations. A distinguished committee of seven previous
winners of the award reviewed the nominations.
The Awards covered the following categories:
Science
Technology
Policy and Implementation
Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs)
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 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 symposia 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 OrganizationÆs
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 (Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment) and IASC (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 US 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.
[ TOP ]
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 Option Committee, whose 1994 Methyl Bromide Assessment Report
served as a basis the 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 UNEPÆs Technology
and Economic Assessment Panel (TEAP) since 1993.
Dr. Suely Machado Carvalho is Co-Chair of the Technology
and Economic Assessment Panel and an advisor to UNEPÆs Industry and
Environment office. 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 establish Multilateral Fund
projects 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.
[ TOP ]
Policy and Implementation
Mr. 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 ProtocolÆs 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.
Mr. 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 Executive Committee his stewardship during the formative years
of the Multilateral Fund ensured the equal participation of Article 5 (developed
countries) and non-Article 5 (developed) members. Under his chairmanship the
Executive Committee signed agreements with UNDP, UNEP and the World Bank as
implementing agencies of the Multilateral Fund.
Mr. Sateeaved Seebaluck headed the delegation of Mauritius
at 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 US$540 million. He has championed the interests of low-volume
consuming countries and continues to serve as an advisor to UNEPÆs Technology
and Economic Assessment Panel.
The Department of Environment - 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 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 Inter-Governmental
Negotiation meeting (IGN) for the Vienna Convention and was a key actor in
preparing the Montreal Protocol and stimulating the Multilateral Fund.
Mr. 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 US 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.
Mr. Richard E. Benedick played a central role in the development
of the Montreal Protocol as chief US negotiator. His skillful and persuasive
diplomacy was instrumental to the ProtocolÆs 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 "The Ozone Diplomacy" offers a fascinating account
of this precedent-setting international treaty from his perspective at the
US Department of State.
[ TOP ]
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
Ms. 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".
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 (ICOLP), 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 US. 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 membersÆ industries. Many Alliance members serve
in the Panels and Committees of the Protocol and help to disseminate new technologies.