The more I reflect on the 23 impressive years since the signing of the Montreal Protocol, the more I realize what far-reaching lessons holds for the global environmental (1) ______ agreements of today. As we close the door on the first decade of the 21st century, the environmental crisis that we face today require (2)______ action beyond even the scale of the worlds response to the ozone-depletion emergency in the late 20th century. As we all know, the ozone layer is a thin layer in the atmosphere that sits about 10-50 km above the Earth. It absorbs most of the harmful ultraviolet radiation to the sun. (3)______ The discovery of an ozone 'hole' in 1985 shocked the world and two years ago the Montreal Protocol was signed. Today, (4) ______ almost every country in the world has ratified the agreement. Along with this years International Ozone Day, which was on Sept 16, it is worth recalled that the Montreal (5)______ Protocol is not simply a bilateral global accord designed to (6) ______ eradicate ozone-depleting substances. In a unique way, the Montreal Protocol brought the global community altogether to find a way to move forward. (7)______ Everyone agreed that what happens to the ozone due to the release of chlorofluorocarbon gases (CFC)—which used in (8)______ aerosols, refrigerators and are still used in air conditioners—was completely linked to what happens to life on Earth. The industrial world later provided the incremental (9) ______ financial and technical assistance to developing countries to implement out the agreement. (10)______