Why has the effort to fight ozone depletion been so successful?
(1) The connection between CFCs and ozone destruction was made very clear by sound science.
(2) Once the ozone hole was discovered, the chemical industry realized that some political action to limit CFCs was probably inevitable, creating a strong economic incentive to develop viable alternatives to CFCs, which the chemical industry did within a year or two.
(3) Equity issues between developed and developing nations were recognized. The developing nations were asked to phase out CFCs later than the wealthy countries, and a fund was established by the wealthy countries to assist the developing countries in converting from CFCs to less harmful chemicals. This resulted in a truly global commitment to solving the problem.