The Montreal Protocol is related to the protection of:

Concept

International environmental agreements regulate specified pollutants or resources through defined control measures.

To identify an agreement’s purpose, connect the substances it regulates with the environmental system those substances damage.

Application

The Montreal Protocol phases out ozone-depleting substances such as chlorofluorocarbons. In the stratosphere, these substances release reactive chlorine or bromine that destroys ozone; therefore, the protocol protects the stratospheric ozone layer.

Cross-check and contrast

• Biodiversity concerns variation among genes, species, and ecosystems and is addressed by biodiversity-specific conservation frameworks.

• Glaciers are bodies of land ice whose decline is principally studied through climate and cryosphere frameworks.

• Oceans are saline water bodies addressed through marine-conservation and pollution-control frameworks.

• The stratospheric ozone layer is directly affected by the ozone-depleting substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol.

Result

The protected environmental system is the stratospheric ozone layer.