US award for Waikato academic’s work on ozone laye

US award for Waikato academic’s work on ozone layer

Waikato University Professor Janet Bornman is collecting an international award this week (SUBS APRIL 21) for her work on protecting the ozone layer.

Prof Bornman is in Washington to receive the 2009 Ozone Layer Protection Award from the US Environmental Protection Agency which leads America’s environmental science, research, education and assessment efforts.

The Ozone Layer Protection Awards were established in 1990 to recognise outstanding contributions to the protection of the Earth’s stratospheric ozone layer. Winners are chosen for their significant contributions to help lessen the health and environmental risks of ozone depletion.

Prof Bornman heads Waikato University’s International Global Change Institute which undertakes research on global climate change and plan-evaluation and implementation to help in developing policy. Since 2004 she has been the co-chair of the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel of the UN’s Environment Programme; before that she was secretary of the panel for more than 10 years. The experts panel is one of three UN panels formed under the auspices of the Montreal Protocol – an international treaty requiring countries to stop production of ozone-depleting substances such as CFCs.

Prof Bornman became particularly interested in the depletion of the ozone layer in the mid 1980s after completing her PhD on the effect of ultra-violet radiation on plants. Ozone depletion has been somewhat overshadowed in recent years by other climate change issues, in particular global warming she says, but it remains an important aspect of planetary changes because some of the gases which deplete the ozone layer are also responsible for global warming.

“I think the warming of the atmosphere is definitely foremost in people’s minds, but the interesting thing is that there seem to be interactions between what is happening with the upper ozone layer and the greenhouse effect,” Prof Bornman says.

And while developed nations may have rid themselves of most of their ozone-depleting substances, it still remains an issue in developing nations as they seek to improve their quality of life with the likes of air conditioning and refrigeration. “There are also banks or stores of ozone-depleting substances in many countries. The technology to get rid of them is very expensive,” she says.

The IGCI was established in 1997 and is a semi-autonomous unit within Waikato University, with most of its funding coming from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology. The climate change research focuses a lot on “what if” work, Prof Bornman says. “We look at climate change scenarios and what they could mean for coastal areas, say in different countries, and a
lso for agriculture in terms of food security. What if we get a 2 degree Celsius rise in temperature in the next couple of decades? What if there’s an increase in sea levels? What if there are more droughts?”

The team also provides training for the community and business about climate adaptation and planning for professionals and decision-makers.

Prof Bornman has also just been invited on to the Royal Society of New Zealand Climate Committee. It was established in 1988 to make recommendations and provide advice on research and monitoring needs, how climate information should be applied and to encourage talks and work between researchers and scientists.

Prof Bornman will spend this week in Washington, and will visit universities and attend a lunch in her honour, hosted by the New Zealand Ambassador to the US, Roy Ferguson.

ENDS

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