Branches of international environmental law - Introduction to International Environmental Law - page 162

Figure 5.3 An assessment of the development of skin cancer cases in relation to UV ra-
diation in the world. The estimation is that a reduction of 10 per cent in the
ozone layer would cause 4,500 cases of melanoma (the most dangerous form
of skin cancer) and 300,000 other skin cancer cases annually over the present
level.Source: Emmanuelle Bournay, UNEP/GRID-Arendal, http://www.
grida.no/graphicslib/detail/number-of-extra-skin-cancer-cases-related-to-
uv-radiation_1456.
Meanwhile, ozone depletion is also accelerating climate change. Increased
UV radiation damages plants and marine organisms, such as plant plankton,
reducing their ability to absorb carbon, which intensifi es climate change.
Yet, climate change is evening out the score: it causes the average earth