The so-called 'Montreal Protocol' stands for 'The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer '.  Its aim is to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production and consumption of substances responsible for its depletion.

It was adopted in September 1987 following the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole in late 1985. In the 1970's, scientists discovered that certain chemical compounds were damaging the protective shield that emcompasses the earth, known as the ozone layer. These chemicals were indeed widely used in many industrial and agricultural processes and used in everyday households items. Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS), as this chemicals family is called, increases the level of ultraviolet radiation, which impacts heavily on human's immune system, skin and eye, but also on the ecosystem as a whole.

Governments recognized the need for firm measures to reduce the production and consumption of a number of CFCs (CFC-11, -12, -113, -114, and - 115) and several Halons (1211, 1301, 2402). The Protocol was designed so that the phase-out schedules could be revised on the basis of periodic scientific and technological assessments and was amended several times to introduce other kinds of control measures and to add new controlled substances to the treaty, notably  London Amendment (1990), the Montreal Amendment (1997) and the Beijing Amendment (1999).