Nobel Laureate Prof Mario Molina to speak at DCU about climate change

15 Nov 2012

Prof Mario Molina

Prof Mario Molina, a leading authority on pollution and its effects on the environment, will be in Dublin next week to give a lecture at Dublin City University (DCU) on the topic of climate change.

Molina was a joint recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Prof Paul Crutzen and Prof F Sherwood Rowland. The three scientists were awarded for their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly around the formation and decomposition of ozone.

Molina is renowned for his groundbreaking work in highlighting the threat from chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gases used in spray cans, fridges and solvents to Earth’s ozone layer. His research has also been pivotal as a precursor to the discovery of a hole in the ozone layer over the South Pole. This led to the creation of the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty that came into force in 1989 to ban the production of chemicals that deplete the ozone layer.

Molina’s recent work has centred on the chemistry of air pollution of the lower atmosphere, looking into the problem of cities that are expanding rapidly, resulting in air pollution problems.

Molina will be speaking at DCU on Wednesday, 21 November at 11am. His presentation ‘Climate Change: Science, Policy and Solutions’ will also be streamed live by Aertv.

Carmel Doyle was a long-time reporter with Silicon Republic

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