Dr. Paul W. Barnes, Professor of Biological Sciences and the Environment Program and J.H. Mullahy Chair in Environmental Biology recently participated in a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) meeting in Ioannina, Greece to prepare a scientific assessment on the environmental effects of ozone depletion and climate change.  Dr. Barnes is a member of the UNEP Environmental Effects and Assessment Panel and worked along-side 25 other scientists from 12 countries to prepare an updated report that was then presented to international policy makers at the recent Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Kigali, Rwanda.  These meetings culminated in a landmark agreement to reduce the emissions of a category of potent greenhouse gases that are used in refrigerators and air conditioners (HFCs).  See the story as reported by the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/15/world/africa/kigali-deal-hfc-air-conditioners.html?_r=0