Case 176 - The Negotiations Leading to the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer

Goodman, Allan E. [case] and Sandra Clemens Bogart [notes]

The subject of this two-part case study is the international negotiations leading to the 1987 agreement known as the Montreal Protocol, whose purpose is to control and reduce emissions of chlorofluorocarbons. The 1985 discovery of a growing hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica prompted the Reagan administration to intensify   discussions with domestic economic interest groups and their foreign counterparts on an agreement eliminating the industrial use of CFCs. This case study illustrates the value of consulting domestic interest groups, as well as the interagency community, to develop a workable negotiating strategy.  It also allows students to assess the effectiveness of public diplomacy and confrontational politics in breaking deadlocks and hastening progress at multilateral conferences.