Montreal Protocol
Over the decades, the Montreal Protocol became a victim of its own success. By 2006, some called for dismantling the treaty, claiming it had achieved its goals and outlived its usefulness. Andersen knew the Protocol needed to be not only preserved but strengthened. In 2007 Andersen assembled a team of scientists, led by Dutch scientist Dr. Guus Velders, to research the role of the Protocol in climate protection. In 2007 Andersen and the Velders’ team published “"The Importance of the Montreal Protocol in Protecting Climate".” The team quantified the benefits of the Montreal Protocol, and found that it helped prevent 11 billion metric tons of CO2equivalent emissions per year from 1990 to 2010, having delayed the impacts of climate change by 7 – 12 years. The paper determined the Montreal Protocol had been the most successful climate agreement in history, it also estimated the joint ozone and climate benefits of an accelerated hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) phaseout, providing policymakers with information needed to accelerate the phaseout.