The Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock through the Burundian Office for Environmental Protection (OBPE) organized on Monday, September 16, 2024, a technical workshop on the cold chain on the occasion of International Ozone Day, 2024 edition, under the theme “Restoring the ozone layer and reducing chemical change”.

On behalf of the Director General of OBPE, the Director of Environment at OBPE, Ms. Renilde Ndayishimiye first recalled that Burundi joins other nations around the world in celebrating the international day dedicated to the protection of the Ozone Layer.

This day was established in 1994 by the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) to commemorate the signing of a historic agreement which is “the Montreal Protocol” relating to the elimination of substances that deplete the ozone layer, and is celebrated every year on September 16.

According to Ms. Ndayishimiye, the Montreal Protocol united the world to phase out ozone-depleting substances. On this World Ozone Day “we are also celebrating its climate action”, she said.

To this end, she pointed out that the gradual elimination of ozone-depleting substances has proven to be a powerful climate action tool that has contributed to the slowdown of global warming, for example by delaying the first ice-free Arctic summer by 15 years.