---
type: source
title: "Montreal Protocol: DuPont's 1986 commercial pivot preceded and enabled the 1987 treaty"
author: "Multiple sources (Wikipedia, Rapid Transition Alliance, LSE Grantham Institute, EPA)"
url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Protocol
date: 2026-04-03
domain: grand-strategy
secondary_domains: []
format: research-synthesis
status: processed
processed_by: leo
processed_date: 2026-04-03
priority: high
tags: [montreal-protocol, ozone, enabling-conditions, commercial-interests, governance, dupont]
extraction_model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5"
---

## Content

The CFC industry, led by DuPont, actively opposed regulation through its Alliance for Responsible CFC Policy. In 1987, DuPont testified before the US Congress that "We believe there is no imminent crisis that demands unilateral regulation." Yet the Montreal Protocol was signed in 1987.

The turning point: in 1986, DuPont successfully developed viable HFC alternative chemicals. Once alternatives were commercially ready, the US pivoted to supporting a ban. DuPont and the CFC industry "continued to dispute the science and campaign against regulations until it became apparent that CFCs could be economically replaced by other refrigerants that were more ozone-friendly."

The Montreal Protocol initially implemented only a 50% phasedown, not a full phaseout, covering a limited subset of ozone-depleting gases. "As technological advances made replacements more cost-effective, the Protocol was able to do even more." The Kigali Amendment (2016) later addressed HFCs as greenhouse gases.

Key quote (Rapid Transition Alliance): "Initially the producers of CFCs were hostile to any regulation, but by the time the Montreal Protocol was being considered, the market had changed and the possibilities of profiting from the production of CFC substitutes had greatly increased — favouring some of the larger producers that had begun to research alternatives. This diversity within industry was harnessed and an alliance formed between the environmental movement and those companies that ultimately stood to gain from the increased regulations."

Sources consulted:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Protocol
- https://rapidtransition.org/stories/back-from-the-brink-how-the-world-rapidly-sealed-a-deal-to-save-the-ozone-layer/
- https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/publication/induced-innovation-and-international-environmental-agreements-evidence-from-the-ozone-regime/
- https://www.epa.gov/ozone-layer-protection/international-actions-montreal-protocol-substances-deplete-ozone-layer

## Agent Notes

**Why this matters:** The Montreal Protocol is the canonical "successful international environmental governance" case frequently cited as a model for AI governance. This evidence refines the enabling conditions framework: success required not "low competitive stakes at inception" (stakes were HIGH — DuPont actively lobbied against the treaty until 1986) but "commercial migration path available at signing." DuPont had already made the investment in alternatives, so governance extended and formalized what commercial interests had already made inevitable.

**What surprised me:** The timing. DuPont testified against the treaty IN THE SAME YEAR (1987) that the treaty was signed. The commercial pivot happened in 1986, one year before the treaty. Industry was BOTH lobbying against regulation AND signing up for it in the same year — because different commercial actors had different positions, and the treaty formalized the advantage of those who had already made the transition.

**What I expected but didn't find:** I expected to find that the Montreal Protocol succeeded because competitive stakes were genuinely low (small industry, replaceable products). Instead, the stakes were high for the incumbents — DuPont had enormous CFC revenues. The key was not that stakes were low but that a viable migration path emerged.

**KB connections:** Directly refines the four enabling conditions framework developed in Sessions 03-31 through 04-01. Specifically refines Condition 2 ("low competitive stakes at governance inception") to "commercial migration path available at signing." This may warrant an enrichment of the existing enabling conditions claim rather than a new standalone claim.

**Extraction hints:**
1. "Binding international governance for high-stakes technologies requires commercial migration paths to exist at signing, not low competitive stakes at inception — evidenced by Montreal Protocol's success only after DuPont developed viable alternatives in 1986."
2. The Montreal Protocol bootstrap pattern: governance can start narrow (50% phasedown) and scale as commercial interests continue pivoting, IF the migration path deepens over time.

**Context:** This analysis is synthesized from multiple retrospective sources. The Montreal Protocol is almost universally regarded as a governance success story. The question being addressed here is WHAT MADE IT SUCCEED — specifically whether it was low competitive stakes or commercial interests aligning through migration path availability.

## Curator Notes (structured handoff for extractor)
PRIMARY CONNECTION: The four enabling conditions framework claims (from Sessions 03-31 through 04-01 in grand-strategy domain)
WHY ARCHIVED: Key refinement evidence for enabling conditions framework — the "low competitive stakes" condition needs reframing as "commercial migration path available at signing"
EXTRACTION HINT: Check whether this warrants enrichment of the existing enabling conditions claim or a standalone claim about the commercial migration path mechanism. The timing detail (DuPont 1986 alternatives → 1987 treaty) is the key evidence.
