Scientist Who Discovered Hole in Ozone Layer Reveals 'Fear For Coming Generations'

Newsweek

21-05-2025

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One of the scientists who discovered the hole in the ozone layer 40 years ago is proud of his work, but he now has major concerns about a new existential crisis: the looming threat of climate change.
Jonathan Shanklin, a meteorologist and an emeritus fellow for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), helped discover the hole in the ozone layer in 1985 along with Joe Farman and Brian G. Gardiner.
In a statement released May 13, Dominic Hodgson, director of science at the BAS, dubbed it "one of the most important environmental discoveries of the 20th century".
Stock image of smoke billowing out of an industrial chimney.
Stock image of smoke billowing out of an industrial chimney.
Photo by Алексей Филатов / Getty Images
In an email to Newsweek, Shanklin said that 40 years after the discovery, he was most proud "that the observations were correct and did indicate that the ozone layer above Antarctica was in trouble".
The scientists' discovery led to quick international action, and according to the World Economic Forum, the ozone layer is "on a path to recovery".
That recovery is in large part due to the Montreal Protocol, an agreement signed by a record number of countries in 1987 banning the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
Banning CFCs, however, was straightforward compared to the looming crisis of climate change.
'Blighted by the consequences'
"Stopping the release of chemicals harmful to the ozone layer was relatively straightforward—manufacturers had (or could design) alternatives that they could supply and there was no requirement for a change in personal lifestyle," Shanklin told Newsweek.
The problem with climate change, according to Shanklin, is "an economic model that does not stand up to scientific scrutiny".
"I personally fear for coming generations whose lives are going to be blighted by the consequences of climate change," Shanklin added. "The evidence is very strong and politicians need to act upon it."
Shanklin said that our current economic model makes two incorrect assumptions. The first is that resources are infinite, and the second is that using them has no consequences.
"It is blindingly obvious that natural resources are not infinite, and is becoming increasingly obvious in the form of all the crises that affect us (ozone, climate, biodiversity, plastic pollution etc.) that using natural resources does have consequences and that the cost of these needs to be included in the model," Shanklin noted.
'Essentially a story of personal greed'
Having once inspired international action with a scientific discovery, Shanklin said he believes that one important lesson was the importance of what a potential crisis is called.
"An ozone hole was clearly a problem, whereas climate change or greenhouse warming can sound quite attractive to some," he said.
He added, "Another lesson is that it is important to have political leaders who understand science," noting that former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had trained as a chemist.
Finally, he stressed the importance of seeing how each crisis is interconnected—that fixing each one in isolation is impossible.
"The underlying linkage is essentially a story of personal greed and a lack of altruism," he said. "Collectively, we need to think of others and future generations."